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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26125792">Outside Looking In （外から見ている）</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonochroMayhem/pseuds/MonochroMayhem'>MonochroMayhem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Resounding Echoes AU [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Body Dysphoria, Bodyswap, Communication Failure, Darkling OC, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, LGBTQ Themes, Lack of Communication, Male-Female Friendship, Original Character(s), Psychological Trauma, Shiptease, Toxic Gender Roles, Trans Female Character, trans tails</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:47:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>98,979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26125792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonochroMayhem/pseuds/MonochroMayhem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tails is finally honest about her identity to Sonic, the blue blur becomes angry for the first time. Not because of anything Tails did, but for what she and her friends DIDN'T do. After a failed attempt to find the "love" that Akshi described with Shadow, Rouge discovers another Eye of Luneria that promises to help her "change his mind".</p><p>Includes mental health themes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rouge the Bat/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Resounding Echoes AU [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827637</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Food Over Fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rouge adjusted the picnic blanket and sat down on the cliff side. “He should have been here, it’s been at least an hour since I called.”</p><p>The bat was finally going to tell him how she’d felt this past month. She figured she should be honest with herself about it, and part of admitting she had those feelings for Shadow was to admit it to him as well. She took in a deep breath and frowned before fishing out a rice dumpling skewer and bit the first dumpling off the stick.</p><p>She’d seen his face when she’d returned from the Dreamscape, and she’d remembered the feeling of his trembling fingers touching her back as he held back any expression of joy. Though she’d had the urge at the time and she enjoyed the spotlight, she knew that it was a surefire way to lose him if she’d kissed him in front of everybody.</p><p>No, a tempered response was ideal. If she was going to show some form of professionalism and grace in her action she needed to take it an a slow and even pace. She slowly bit off the second dumpling from the stick.</p><p><em> I’m good enough, </em> she thought to herself. <em> I’m intelligent, I’m tenacious, I have a lot of useful skills… what more could a man want than a woman who knows how to manage her job?  </em></p><p><em> Then again, maybe that’s why he wouldn’t be interested in me? </em> she thought. <em> I mean, a man being supplanted by a woman career wise can be a bit intimidating. Though Shadow isn’t easily intimidated from what I remember. Maybe there is something he’s frightened by? </em>She went for the last dumpling.</p><p>“Rouge?” a familiar voice called. </p><p>Rouge nearly sucked the food off the stick and down the wrong pipe. “S-Shadow! What a surprise seeing you here.”</p><p>“You invited me here,” the hedgehog said flatly. “What’s with the picnic blanket?”</p><p>“Well, I saw there was a fireworks display happening on the bay and thought you might want in.” She patted the ground next to her.</p><p>Shadow carefully walked over and sat down. “I see you brought food,” he said. He pulled out a skewer of dumplings. “The new place downtown?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah, I love their dumplings,” she said. “Though they’re trying this new kind of takoyaki that’s all sweets and I’m not sure how much I like it.”</p><p>“Well, I’m sure they taste fine,” he said, biting off a dumpling. “Why exactly did you call me out here?” Shadow asked. “You know I had an assignment tonight, right?”</p><p>Rouge’s ears folded. “Must have slipped my mind,” she said. The hedgehog groaned in response and stared out over the water, and the bat frowned. One wrong move and everything could go south for the winter.</p><p>“They said twenty minutes past sundown, but it’s already been thirty,” she replied. What could possibly be taking them this long?”</p><p>“Maybe their boat got jammed,” Shadow said.</p><p>“Maybe,” she said.</p><p>Shadow ate another dumpling. “So how have things been with Tails?” he said. “Is she still coming over to your place?”</p><p>“Yeah, she is,” Rouge replied. “She still has trouble getting the hang of eyeliner. I don’t blame her by any means- applying that stuff’s just like playing Operation.” She pulled her knees to her chest. “Though she rocks blue better than I ever could.”</p><p>“I’ll bet,” Shadow said. “Is she still working with Jolt’s new legs?”</p><p>“Oh, don’t even get me started!” Rouge said. “I’ll be woken up in the middle of the night to her clattering around the kitchen for a midnight snack. She pulls all-nighters, the poor girl.”</p><p>“Didn’t seem to stop her before.”</p><p>“Well, if she doesn’t stop now she’s gonna get dark spots under her eyes,” Rouge said. “Not very flattering on anyone, much less a young lady like herself.”</p><p>“I hope you didn’t say that directly,” Shadow sternly replied. “Tails needs support, especially while she comes out. Speaking of which, how many times is she gonna have to do that?”</p><p>“Well, with Amy’s help, she talked to Knuckles today, so that makes… <em> one </em>,” she said. The last word was a bit more grave than intended.</p><p>“Oh,” Shadow said, picking up on which person Rouge had meant. “Yeah, it sounds like that’s going to be her biggest hurdle.” He threw a small stone off the cliff and listened as it splashed below.</p><p>“He’s always been her biggest hurdle since we came back from the Dreamscape,” Rouge frowned. “From minute one, she’s been worried of what Sonic will think of her. I mean, he acts like a macho-man lady killer, he is clearly not interested in Amy,” she listed. “She’s afraid of how this would affect their friendship- Sonic’s like a brother to her.”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure that Sonic isn’t going to care either way,” Shadow admitted. “He’s never really cared about that sort of thing so long as the person was still a friend to him.”</p><p>“That’s what I told her, but she doesn’t seem to believe me,” Rouge said. “I mean, I’m not exactly an expert in knowing the guy, though.”</p><p>Shadow shrugged. “Rouge,” he bluntly asked, “why did you <em> really </em>call me here?”</p><p>Rouge stopped short. “I… I wanted to talk about the incident a month ago.”</p><p>Shadow clenched a fist full of grass. “What about it?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, I was told you kinda… lost it.”</p><p>Shadow shook a bit. “It was nothing,” he said. “I didn’t have a lid on my emotions was all.”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “Look, you don’t need to lie to me about it, you know.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “Listen, what happened was… I wasn’t in my right mind, okay? I don’t know what that was. Those fake Emeralds, that disgusting feeling deep inside me. It was like I was back to trusting Black Doom again but…” He clutched the white patch of fur on his chest. His eyes were wide and he was trying to keep his huffing as inaudible as possible, but to no avail.</p><p>Rouge put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m right here, Shadow. No need to be frightened, I’m still alive, and that’s all that—“</p><p>Shadow pushed her hand off. “You don’t get it. That wasn’t who I was, it isn’t who I am. It’s something much more dark and it’s something I’ve never seen. And what was worse was I felt like I was trapped in the backseat of a car with my limbs hogtied, unable to do anything to stop the driver from moving ahead.” He looked at his hands. “And those powers…”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “Shadow, why are you afraid of something like that?”</p><p>“Because I could have hurt someone, Rouge.”</p><p>“You beat people up all the time,” she said.</p><p>“I mean someone I care about,” he replied. “I didn’t mention it but all of the people I was with… I felt… angry at them. I wanted to turn on all of them. I think that’s why Luneria did what she did- she wanted to use friendly fire.” He clenched his hands. “It took all my strength just to focus on her.”</p><p>“But you managed it still.” Rouge scooted a bit closer. “You managed to control yourself.”</p><p>Shadow was still shaking. “And if I wasn’t able to, what would have happened? What would have happened if you had been there, or Omega?” he asked. “I would have been the reason you died. I still thought I was the reason you died.”</p><p>“But I didn’t die,” Rouge said.</p><p>“You <em> almost </em>died, whatever,” Shadow growled. </p><p>Rouge looked at him. “I’m fine. I can handle myself.”</p><p>Shadow turned to face Rouge. “I don’t want to lo—“</p><p>Rouge grabbed his shoulder and locked her lips with his. He stopped for a moment and froze up. Rouge thought she’d feel fireworks inside her but there was little more than the dull throb of her heartbeat.</p><p>Shadow pushed her off of him and stood. “I…” He shook harder than ever before. “I have to go.”</p><p>“Wait, we can still—“</p><p>“No,” Shadow said, and he turned and skated away, leaving the bat alone as the fireworks show began over the bay. </p><p>Rouge looked out onto the water, unsure of how she could possibly have screwed up any worse. She made it about her again. She ignored his feelings again. And all the same, she felt like she wasn’t in the wrong, and that’s what felt so wrong about it. Worse still, she didn’t feel anything from the kiss.</p><p><em> You’ll know it when you feel it, </em> Akshi’s voice echoed. Rouge’s hand tightened around the picnic basket’s handle. <em> Unconditional, unquestionable love. </em></p><p>“Urrgh!” she yelled, tossing the basket off the cliff. “Shows what you know, you stupid bird! I knew that was too vague! It’s what I get from your idiotic advice!”</p><p>She stood there and huffed as she registered what she’d done, and as she came down from the high of her rampage her look turned from anger to embarrassed frustration. Her outburst luckily been seen by nobody, but she’d had a heist earlier that day and stored several stolen gems inside the basket. By now they were probably scattered all over the rocky beach below.</p><p>She hopped off the cliff and drifted down to the rocks, where she began carefully sifting through them for each precious jewel. She was pretty good at it in the daylight, but her vision was much worse given that the only real lights she had were the fireworks. Even though she would certainly tire from it, she continued searching for them.</p><p>As she recovered half the jewels, a strange ringing had begun to fill her ears. She swore it was her sensitive hearing simply reacting to the fireworks, but she was capable of easily tuning them out while she was searching for her haul. This was something else.</p><p>And then, a voice- a whisper- came from in front of her. <em> “I can fix it.” </em></p><p>“What?” Rouge asked. “Who… who are you? <em> Where </em>are you?”</p><p>
  <em> “The crevice in front of you…” </em>
</p><p>Rouge looked to the cliff, where she spied a strange and sickly green glow from within a hole slightly smaller than her waist. She turned her head and peered inside, but only found that the glow continued down a narrow tunnel.</p><p>“I’ve fit through smaller,” she said. “But what are you anyway?”</p><p>There was a moment of silence before the light spoke. <em> “I am… a guiding light.” </em></p><p>Rouge rolled her eyes and started fiddling her way into the crevice. “I swear if this is some sort of practical joke, I’m going to have your head.”</p><p>As she climbed into the tunnel and shimmied her way through a few feet of dirt, she came upon the sight of a gem resting inside a small cavern. At first, she was eager to get her hands on it- it <em> was </em>a pretty green jewel, after all- but as she slid closer and fell into the chamber she recognized the shape of it and her stomach turned.</p><p>It was another Eye of Luneria.</p><p>She shuffled backwards to the opposite wall of the tight space. “Oh, no no no no no, I know what <em> you </em>do and I’m not getting myself involved.”</p><p><em> “What are you speaking of?” </em>the voice said, a little bit louder than the whisper it had before.</p><p>“You’re an Eye of Luneria, I’m not going to be tricked like Bastette was.” Rouge turned around. “I need to get out of here and tell Nyx that—“</p><p><em> “No!” </em> it shouted. A small quake around the Eye left Rouge in panic for a moment as she became concerned about a cave-in. <em> “Do NOT take me to that brat,” </em>it said.</p><p>Rouge narrowed her eyes and turned back around. “And why not?” she asked.</p><p>“<em> Because I can change his mind.” </em></p><p>“Whose mind?” Rouge said. “I’m not gonna be fooled by another vague saying.” The anger pains hit her as she remembered Akshi’s words.</p><p><em> “Your friend, the not-so-tall, dark and brooding one…” </em>the green gem said.</p><p>“Shadow?” she whispered. “But why do I need to change his mind? He seems like—“</p><p>
  <em> “He seems like he isn’t giving you a chance. Take me with you, and I can help you change his mind.” </em>
</p><p>Rouge thought for a moment. He’d cut her off and left her alone so quickly. Perhaps it made sense that she needed a second try to get it right. A second chance to prove that she could make him feel less alone in the world.</p><p>“My stipulation,” Rouge said, “is that you do not attach yourself to me.”</p><p>
  <em> “You are of no use to me, Rouge the Bat. You have little to offer.” </em>
</p><p>Rouge scowled. “Excuse me?” she said.</p><p>
  <em> “I am the Wisher’s Garnet, Sonata, and I act upon what a person needs. You need his mind to change, and no more. I have no need to take your vessel unless your needs are many.” </em>
</p><p>Rouge pursed her lips and reached for the stone. A strange buzz came down her arm as her hand drew closer, and upon touching it, there was a shock that left her hair frizzed.</p><p>
  <em> “Excellent, now let’s fulfill your need. Take me to see him.” </em>
</p><hr/><p>“Alright, and that’s the last streamer!” Knuckles said. “Amy, how’s the cake?”</p><p>“I <em> just </em> put it in,” Amy said. “Sonic, how are those drinks coming?”</p><p>“Uh…” Sonic said. His arms were full of grocery bags. “I think I got everything from the store. Cola, Diet Cola, Lemonade, Cherry DewPoint, Citrus Valley…” He paused. “Oh! And a huge cake decoration kit for you, since you asked.”</p><p>“Aww, that’s so sweet of you!” Amy gushed.</p><p>Sonic rolled his eyes. “Amy, we talked about this.”</p><p>“No amount of talk is ever gonna make me stop loving you, Sonic,” she sweetly replied. “I know you wouldn’t have gone out of your way to get me a gift if you didn’t care.”</p><p>Sonic indignantly turned his head away. “I should have kept the receipt.”</p><p>“Hey, lovebirds, stop bickering and get the snack table set up. Tails is gonna be here any minute,” the echidna said. “I don’t want them to think you’re doing this last minute or anything.”</p><p>“Sorry Knux,” Sonic said. “I would have told you sooner but I really wanted it to be special and I couldn’t have anyone giving away a super important occasion like this.”</p><p>“I mean, most people don’t go all out for the anniversary of a friendship,” Knuckles said. “Usually they get them a card or a gift or something and <em> not </em>throw them something the size of a graduation party.”</p><p>“Besides, you know that as soon as I told Tails why I wanted them over, they immediately knew what was happening,” Amy added. </p><p>“He’s sharper than a tack,” Sonic replied. “But hey, at least he’ll be in good company. Oh, speaking of company, have you got any messages from Bastette yet?”</p><p>Knuckles stopped what he was doing and went over to a phone that sat on the coffee table. Carefully with his thumb he unlocked the screen and flicked through his messages. “Yeah, she picked up Tails a minute ago. Shouldn’t be too long now.”</p><p>Sonic smirked as he finished stacking the snacks on the nearby fold-out table. “Then I guess that’s it right? Now all we need is— hey, wait a sec!”</p><p>“Huh?” Knuckles asked. “What’s up?”</p><p>“I forgot dip for the chips,” Sonic said. “I’ll go and get it, don’t worr—“</p><p>Amy pursed her lips and stared at Knuckles, who immediately cut in. “I’ll go and get it, Sonic,” he said. “I have an extra thing I have to grab anyway, so it’ll be easier.”</p><p>“Why don’t you just tell me what you need and I’ll go get it. You know I’ll be quick about it,” Sonic said, tapping his foot.</p><p>“Sonic, there’s something I have to discuss with you,” Amy said. “And Knuckles already got the talk so it’s your turn.”</p><p>“Oh, no, you’re not leaving me alone with her,” Sonic said. “Knuckles?”</p><p>The echidna had bolted out the door, leaving the two hedgehogs alone.  Sonic swallowed as Amy approached him with a grin. “You look nice tonight,” she said.</p><p>“I did literally nothing different from what I normally do to freshen up,” he said.</p><p>“That’s <em> why </em>you look nice tonight,” she said. “Anyways, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? And what’s that, another proposition? There’s no way I—“</p><p>“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry about hogging Tails this past month. Tails has something really important to tell you and they waited until tonight to say it.”</p><p>“Whaddya mean?” Sonic said. “Is Tails in trouble for something?”</p><p>“No, not really. They’ve just… it’s been really rough on them having to be honest with everyone. They had to come out to everybody one at a time.”</p><p>“Wait, come out?” Sonic said. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>Amy stopped and covered her mouth. “I… that was the wrong choice of words.”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a sec,” he said. “Whaddya mean, “coming out”? Did I miss a memo?” He looked towards the door.</p><p>Amy frowned. “Sonic, I need you to be supportive, okay? It’s been a bit difficult trying to adjust, especially when some of us don’t know yet. We’re trying to respect Tails’ wish to let them do it themselves. They’re scared of someone taking it the wrong way.”</p><p>“Well, how many people does he have to come out to?”</p><p>Amy pursed her lips and looked away.</p><p>“Ames, how many?”</p><p>She looked back at him and sheepishly smiled. “Eheh…”</p><p>Sonic’s eyes widened and he began to shake his head. “You can’t be serious… I was the last one he was gonna—“</p><p>“<em>She </em> was gonna, Sonic, <em>she</em> was. <em> She </em> was just scared, okay?”</p><p>“Why would Tails need to be scared of me?” his voice was getting louder.</p><p>“Maybe because you try to avoid girls at every turn, maybe that’s why?” she said, raising her voice to match.</p><p>“I don’t do that because you’re a girl, Amy, I do it because—“</p><p>“Don’t you dare try to spin this a different way!” She was livid and her voice was starting to sound a little ragged.</p><p>“I just wanna understand why <em> my </em>best friend in the whole wide world is suddenly not able to trust me is all! Why he- she, ugh, that’s gonna take some getting used to- why she suddenly is hanging out with you instead of me.”</p><p>“Because she told me <em> first</em>, Sonic! I was there when she came back from whatever that rock did to her!”</p><p>“And why didn’t she tell me next?”</p><p>“Um… Sonic? Amy?” a gentle voice called.</p><p>The two of them turned. “What?” they shouted in unison.</p><p>Tails, timid, stood in the doorway. Her pencil skirt draped over her legs and she carefully adjusted the collar of her white blouse. “What are you two fighting about?” she asked.</p><p>Sonic couldn’t do anything but stare for a moment. “Tails… I…”</p><p>“Hey, Sonic, um….” the fox tried to say.</p><p>The blue blur’s eyes were downcast and his lower lip was beginning to tremble a bit. His fingers dug into his leg as he fought back tears.</p><p>Tails’ ears downturned, and Sonic opened back up for a moment, reaching his hand out and trying to assure that he wasn’t making some judgement. But as he remembered why he’d been upset, he turned to Amy and frowned. </p><p>“I can’t do this right now,” he said. And before Amy had time to hear the first sniffle, he was out the back door and down the street.</p><p>Tails was already crying. Amy came over and gave her a hug. “It’s not your fault, Tails.”</p><p>“It is though,” she said. “If I didn’t feel this way I wouldn’t—“</p><p>“No,” Bastette said from the front porch, putting her hand on her shoulder. “None of that.” </p><p>“But why did he leave?” Tails asked. “He looked at me, saw what I was wearing, and just bolted.” She sniffled. “I knew this was a bad idea and I took the risk anyway.”</p><p>Carefully, Bastette pushed Jolt through the front door in her wheelchair and set her by the couch. “Tails, why don’t you and Jolt talk about your plans for this coming week. I’ll go talk to him.”</p><p>“But you don’t even know where he went!” Amy said.</p><p>“Well, you tend to know where he’s at most of the time, so maybe you’d know where he goes to brood?” she replied, raising an eyebrow at the hedgehog.</p><p>Amy blushed. “W-well, I don’t know about brooding, but if I were him I’d go to a place that makes him feel safe right now. Probably the lighthouse.” </p><p>Bastette nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll be back with him soon, and this’ll be sorted.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Green Eye Flashes Twice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After Sonic admits how he feels hurt that the whole team hid the truth from him, and how Tails broke her promise to tell him if anything was wrong, he bounces back and is ready to tell her how he feels to mend their friendship. But when Rouge the Bat gets the jump on Shadow with the Eye, the hedgehogs' lives become... entangled.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sonic threw another rock off the top of the lighthouse roof. His frustrations were high since he got there, and he knew they weren’t going to come down without a fight. So he did what any teenage boy would do to cope- throw stuff.</p><p>“Ouch!” a voice called. “Ugh, Sonic, I know you’re up there.” </p><p>Sonic recognized the voice as Bastette’s, and he wondered how on Earth she’d found him so quickly. He stayed silent and continued to throw rocks. He was hardly in the mood to be anything but put out.</p><p>“Don’t make me knock the lighthouse down with my skull,” she said.</p><p>“How about you come <em> up here </em>and talk, then,” he replied. The venom in his voice bit at the edge of his tongue like a gnat. “Seems more productive.”</p><p>Bastette sighed in exasperation. “You’re lucky I want to make things better because otherwise I would have just left you to your own devices.”</p><p>As she slammed the door to the lighthouse entrance below, he muttered under his breath. “You still have a chance to.”</p><p>He stared out at the bay. There were supposed to be fireworks tonight, and they’d all have come down here after dinner to see them. But now that it seemed that the party was ruined by the rude awakening, he was going to be watching them alone. He looked down, wondering why nobody had bothered to tell him about his best friend.</p><p>Bastette cracked open the hatch on the roof and clambered out. “Amy told me I’d find you here. She said this is the place you go when you’re not feeling so well.”</p><p>“I’m gonna have to change that place again if that’s true,” Sonic said. </p><p>“No need, I’ll tell her I spotted you along the way,” the cat replied. “Are you… feeling okay?”</p><p>“Does it look like I’m <em> remotely </em> okay?” Sonic asked, his tone a bit more harsh than usual. “Tails <em> lied </em>to me.” He was still trying to hold back his tears from earlier and his nose continued to itch from it.</p><p>“Sonic, she wanted to tell you,” Bastette said. “She didn’t want you to hate her for being who she was.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?” Sonic said. “I’m not mad at her at all for that.”</p><p>“What?” Bastette asked. “But you ran off when you saw her.”</p><p>“I told her a month ago that even though she couldn’t tell me what was going on I was going to support her, and to not be afraid to tell me anything.” Sonic frowned and pulled his knees closer to his face. “I ran off because she told <em> everybody else </em> before me. I mean, that’s bogus! A best friend always has your back, and Tails didn’t trust that I had his— <em> her </em> — back.” He gritted his teeth in embarrassment at the slip-up. “I mean, what kind of friend does that make me that my own little sis can’t even trust me?” </p><p>Bastette pursed her lips, not knowing where to begin. </p><p>“What’s wrong with me that I can’t be trusted?” he asked, not necessarily to her but simply aloud. “What did she even think of me to assume that? Did I… did I do something wrong?”</p><p>Bastette frowned. “I didn’t tell you before did I?” she asked.</p><p>“About your sister? No, I remember hearing about her.”</p><p>“I told you about her, but she wasn’t the first of us to come out, Sonic,” she said. “I told her before she even saw it in herself. And we were twins, practically having each other’s backs from minute one. And when I told her she cried.”</p><p>“So you’re trans too, huh?” Sonic said. </p><p>Bastette nodded.</p><p>“But… why’d she do that? Jolt, I mean,” he asked. “Shouldn’t she have been happy for you?”</p><p>“She <em> was </em> happy for me, but I couldn’t tell because she was crying, just like Tails can’t tell because you ran away. And just like you, Jolt was crying because she felt hurt by how long I hid it from her.” Bastette sighed. “She didn’t talk to me for a whole week.” She looked at the hedgehog. “It was really hard because admitting and starting that journey meant relinquishing my identity as an identical twin. It’s hardest to tell personal stuff to your siblings because they’ve been with you the longest and you don’t want that to change, or because they are so vital to who you are.”</p><p>“Well, I didn’t want that to change,” Sonic said. “I still don’t want it to change. I just don’t want to be the reason that anybody feels bad.”</p><p>“Then don’t be,” Bastette said, holding out her hand. “Come back to the party and you can tell Tails how you feel.”</p><p>“But she probably doesn’t want me there after everything that happened,” he said. “I should give her the space she needs.”</p><p>“Sonic, you kept trying to make things better when I learned Briar was sick,” Bastette said. “Now it’s my turn. Come back with me and I’ll help you if you can’t find the words you wanna say.”</p><p>Sonic gripped her hand and stood up, wiping his hand over his eyes and taking another loud sniff. “Geez, that felt weird.”</p><p>“Were you crying?” Bastette asked.</p><p>“Me? Crying? Please,” he said with a playful smirk. “That was just dust.”</p><p>The fireworks sounded from behind them, and as the colors sparked and bounced off the surroundings, coloring them with their own hue each time their thunder went off, Sonic’s eyes sparked vibrant with a new resolve to make tonight fun for his best friend.</p><p>Bastette led him to the hatch. “Come on, we might have missed our chance for the fireworks show but we won’t miss the monster movie marathon.”</p><p>“Heck yeah!” Sonic said. “I hope you brought that adaptation of T.R. Phillips’ classic.”</p><p>“<em> The Sound Beyond Time? </em>” she asked. Her voice held a little bit of a sting. “It doesn’t even make sense. A sound that can demonstrably be heard but is nonetheless nowhere in the audible frequency range? That isn’t real.”</p><p>“That’s what makes it a mystery,” Sonic said. “Also, it was the first movie Tails picked apart and it was another thing that convinced me how cool she was.” He smiled softly.</p><p>“Well then, guess I’ll keep quiet while you two tear into that film,” she said. “I’ve never even seen it but the premise kinda turned me off to the idea.”</p><p>“Guess it’ll be dinner and a show because Tails likes to go off in the middle, when—“</p><p>“No spoilers!” the cat teased, slugging him in the shoulder.</p><p>A screech sounded from below, and the two looked down to see Rouge the Bat shouting and throwing a picnic basket off the cliff in front of her. She stamped her foot to the ground and held her hands extended with her fists clenched and shouted some more before petering out.</p><p>Sonic frowned. “What’s got her in a mood all of a sudden?” he asked. He eyed the gingham picnic blanket. “Did she get ghosted or something?”</p><p>“I don’t know. But why is she going down to retrieve the picnic basket? Didn’t seem that expensive or anything.”</p><p>Bastette frowned and opened the hatch before climbing down. “Probably because she’s smuggling her yield from a heist again,” she said. “Let’s get down there.”</p><p>Sonic nodded and followed her down the lighthouse steps and slid down the cliff, where they just spotted Rouge slipping into a tight crevice. “Oh boy,” Sonic said. “I can’t fit in there.”</p><p>“Neither can I,” Bastette replied. “But all the gems are out here. Why would she be going into a cave?”</p><p>“Maybe there’s a gem in there that she saw?” Sonic guessed. “She likes gems.”</p><p>“She likes <em> jewels </em>, Sonic.” Bastette paused. “Jewels are already faceted, cut, and polished.”</p><p>Sonic paused. “Then what do you think it could be? A Chaos Emerald?”</p><p>Bastette swallowed as painful surge hit her forehead and she remembered the last incident. “I… I think I know what it is, but I really don’t want to believe it. I’m pretty sure it’s—“</p><p>“Another Eye?” Sonic finished. “But if Rouge is in there, then won’t it—“</p><p>“Attach itself? It very well could,” she said. She began feeling at the wall before settling on a spot. “Okay, here goes.”</p><p>She geared back and slammed her head into the scratchy cliff, breaking off a large chunk of it and moving as it toppled over and revealed the Bat hunched inside a small cavern clutching a green Marquise-cut gem.</p><p>Rouge looked at the two of them as they came forward. “Oh hi, you two!” she said. She hid the gem behind her back and scooted against the rocky wall. “I take it you came for the fireworks, too?”</p><p>Bastette swallowed. “Hey, Rouge. What’s that you got there?”</p><p>She pulled out one of the stolen jewels. “Oh this? This is a 7 carat natural blue topaz, actually. I was going to ask you if you wanted to give a gift to—“</p><p>“She meant what’s behind your back,” Sonic bluntly said.</p><p>Rouge froze and pulled her hand out, revealing absolutely nothing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Then back away from the wall,” he said.</p><p>“Hey, you’re a kid, you can’t be bossing an adult around like—“</p><p>“Rouge, we know there’s an Eye there, don’t play dumb,” Bastette said. “Give it to us and we can take it to where it belongs.”</p><p>Rouge frowned. “No!” she said. “I need this stone to accomplish something, and it’s also very <em> very </em>beautiful, so I’m going to have to pass.” She launched herself into the air. </p><p>Sonic jumped and grabbed ahold of one of her feet. “Put it down, Rouge! That thing’s evil and you know it!”</p><p>“It’s my second chance at love is what it is!” she said. “I need it to undo what I did.”</p><p>Sonic climbed slowly up her leg, desperately trying to fend off against her powerful kicks. “You’re going to end up like Bastette was!" he shouted.</p><p>Rouge held the gem close to her chest. “No I’m not. This isn’t something you’d understand at all.”</p><p>There was a quick flash, and Sonic felt a strange warmth surround him. “What the— what is going on?”</p><p>Rouge looked down at the source of the flash- the Garnet. She pursed her lips and sighed. “I need to change his mind.” She kicked him square in the face, causing him to tumble back onto the rocky beach.</p><p>Bastette grimaced. “Rouge, you’re making a big mistake.”</p><p>The bat was already flying away, unwilling to listen to them.</p><p>Sonic groaned. “‘Tette, whatever that stone did, my body feels like it’s a hot lightbulb ready to burst.”</p><p>She ran over to him and felt at his forehead as she propped him up. “Hm, doesn’t feel like a fever,” she said. ”Looks like she gave you a black eye, though.”</p><p>“Yeah, maybe it’s a good thing we’re going home then. I can get some ice.” Sonic shook his head. “It doesn’t feel like I’m sick, either. I don’t understand what this feeling is, but I think that stone did it to me.”</p><p>“Maybe we should ask Nyx what’s happening?” Bastette suggested. </p><p>“No, no. It’s fine. We can have the party and <em> then </em>talk to her. Tails comes first.” He began walking back, but scooped Bastette into his arms. “Normally I’d wanna take the scenic route but we need to hurry.”</p><p>As they began running through the nearby woods, Sonic’s hot flashes were getting worse and worse. His heartbeat raced so fast he swore it was faster than his feet, and his chest was getting painful jabs every few seconds. He felt cold sweats.</p><p>He set Bastette down and stood by a tree off the dirt path, placing one hand to hold his weight on the trunk and the other on his knee as he hunched over. He broke into a heavy pant and frowned. “What’s… happening to me?”</p><p>Bastette walked towards him. “I’ve never seen you this exhausted.”</p><p>“I’ve never <em> been </em>this exhausted,” he replied. </p><p>“Do you want me to call them?” the cat asked. She already had her phone out.</p><p>The hedgehog nodded. “I’m just gonna… gonna…”</p><p>He leaned backwards and fell down a steep hill off the beaten path, and Bastette looked up just as he disappeared. He heard her call for him as he slipped into the dark.</p><p>“Sonic!”</p><hr/><p>Shadow sighed. He knew he had to apologize for just leaving his friend there. He knew he needed to elaborate on what he felt. But he wasn’t sure where to begin.</p><p>Rouge had been a friend of his for a while now, at least a few years. She’d had his back most of the time, save for when he caught her trying to foil what he thought was the right plan. Certainly she was a woman with her own interests in mind, but even so there were definitely better things she thought about than jewels. </p><p>At least, he hoped.</p><p>His fingers traced the edges of the ebony bookshelf in her living room. He’d been in her upscale boujee apartment since he’d left the picnic- since she’d been left alone- trying to formulate a response.</p><p>She was the one who broke him out of Eggman’s base, the one who refused to believe he was an android. She’d been the one who would take hits and dish them out harder on missions when asked. She’d been the one who could easily pick up the slack where Shadow was insufficient.</p><p>Insufficient. That word was a bad taste on his lips, just like that bittersweet kiss. He hated talking about his own faults, but he knew they were there. Oh boy, were they there. For all the trash talk at his rivals of what he could do, there was little mention of what he couldn’t do.</p><p>He had phenomenal cosmic powers, but no real way to control them on his own. He gingerly touched the inhibitors around his wrists, reminded of how much they held back. The power was strong, but control was always a struggle with them off.</p><p>He had the speed to keep up with that blue teen who bugged him so much, but often stumbled over water- the jets couldn’t exactly hover forever. And even if he could maneuver as normally as any person while wearing such heavy shoes- shoes that for most people would feel like 40-pound bricks- it took a lot of effort not to be dragged to the bottom in them when treading water.</p><p>Acrobatic, strong, fast. These were his best qualities in combat. A good roundhouse kick would easily knock someone unconscious. An artful dodge through a hallway of GUN simulation lasers would leave him with an adrenaline rush taller than a mountain. But despite this, he wasn’t the most careful. Wasn’t the most methodical. Wasn’t the most charismatic.</p><p>He didn’t want to believe any of that but he knew that Rouge had plenty to offer there. She had the know-how when it came to the ins and outs of GUN. She understood bureaucracy well enough that she could easily exploit the loopholes to get her way. She could <em> hack </em> and <em> safecrack. </em>She was even capable of safer espionage since her hearing was better.</p><p>She covered his weak points like the survivor’s bias would to a damaged plane.</p><p>And he covered hers.</p><p>“Maybe Syll’s right- maybe I <em>am</em> letting her get to me,” Shadow thought aloud. “Why is this feeling so… wrong, though?”</p><p>He thought about the incident again. He thought he’d never deal with trauma again. Omega was alright after the repairs- he’d recovered in little under a week thanks to Tails’ expertise- but Rouge had practically died in front of him. The image of that broken gem sent shudders down his spine and a briny wave of discontent lapped his throat from the ocean of his stomach.</p><p>
  <em> She could have died. She almost died.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Only almost. </em>
</p><p>The image grew brighter in his thoughts and he felt his chest grow tight, and he clutched the patch of white fur on his chest again. He hissed as each beat of his heart felt like the water of a power washer trying to fit through a straw. As the throbs grew more and more deep, his breath became more and more shallow, until he toppled over and laid on the floor.</p><p>The pain stopped as he rested. He shouldn’t be sick. But this wasn’t at all any sort of physical ailment and he knew it. </p><p>He reached up and grabbed his phone, flicking through the contacts until he got to Sylphic. He hesitated for a moment. Was it really a big deal? Couldn’t he handle it on his own? It was a feeling, nothing more…</p><p>A painful throb reminded him, and he swallowed and pressed the button to call. He sat up on the couch and waited.</p><p>“Hello? Shadow?” Sylphic answered. “Are you alright? It’s 9 pm. Nobody calls at—“</p><p>“9 pm with anything but an emergency, thanks,” Shadow said. “Don’t send me on a guilt trip.”</p><p>“Right,” the medic said. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“I had another episode,” Shadow said.</p><p>“Did you schedule a visit with the psychiatrist I recommended?” </p><p>Shadow paused. He hadn’t, despite the countless times this exact scenario had left him calling. “I tried, but she didn’t pick up,” he lied.</p><p>Sylphic saw through him like cellophane. “You didn’t call did you?”</p><p>Shadow stayed silent.</p><p>“Shadow, I’m not mad at you, I just don’t understand. If you need help, you need help.” He sighed. “Is it a pride thing?”</p><p>Shadow swallowed. “Syll, I don’t want to go. What if she…”</p><p>“She’s not going to <em> bite </em>you, and she specializes in trauma cases,” he said. </p><p>“I don’t think “I watched my friend get turned into a necklace and then destroyed” is going to make me look anything less than crazy.” He clutched his chest as the pains returned. “Besides, that’s not why I’m calling.”</p><p>“Then what is it?”</p><p>“I had an episode again and this time my heart was acting… weird.”</p><p>Sylphic paused for a moment. “How bad?”</p><p>“Bad enough that it left me lying on the floor.”</p><p>There was silence for a moment as Shadow heard scratching beyond the phone. “Are you writing this down, old man?” he asked.</p><p>“I’m younger than you,” Sylphic replied. “You have your scheduled blood donation tomorrow, so we’ll have to talk about your stress cardiomyopathy as well.”</p><p>“My what now?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Your irregular heartbeat caused by your episodes, Shadow. It’s triggered by too much stress.” The sound of a paper flipping in the background clued Shadow in to his note-taking. “Let’s see… I checked your blood during that first draw and gotta say, you have some <em> crazy </em>high cortisol levels. And that was assuming this was a baseline. Luckily you seem to be immune to physiological ailments of all kinds, but…”</p><p>The way that last sentence trailed off left Shadow at unease. “But what?” he said. “Finish the sentence.”</p><p>“At the time, Gerald wouldn’t have had any means to test your psychological fortitude, nor would that have been ethical,” Sylphic replied. “From what I’m understanding, you might be immune to physical ailments, but not necessarily to all types of physiological symptoms of psychological distress.”</p><p>Shadow clutched his head. “Didn’t he say that my mind was made perfect?” he asked.</p><p>Sylphic thought for a moment. “I never checked anything after my mind was scanned in, was it the execution video?”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “Yeah, that one.”</p><p>“Yeah, I can’t watch that without my stomach turning, so I’ll take your word for it. The word “perfect” would be difficult to describe in that context then. The question isn’t “what is perfect?” so much as “perfect for what?” and that means—“</p><p>“TL;dr, please,” Shadow said.</p><p>“We don’t know what he meant by perfect but it probably meant perfect as a weapon for destroying the planet,” Sylphic said. “Probably related to his tamperings later in his life.”</p><p>Shadow wrung his hands. “Yeah…”</p><p>Sylphic sighed. “Listen, if you need to, I can call with you tomorrow during your visit. I’m supposed to be a friend and this is what friends do,” he said. “They’re there to keep you steady.”</p><p>The hedgehog sighed. “You’re a good man, Syll.”</p><p>“You are too once you, you know, get past all the rough edges,” the hybrid replied. “I’m sorry if I can’t be more comforting, it’s never really been my strongest suit.”</p><p>“That’s okay, that’s what she was there for,” Shadow replied.</p><p>Sylphic chuckled. “I suppose that’s true.”</p><p>“Any news from Bastette about Briar’s treatment?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“She’s been responding well, hasn’t stumbled in two weeks, and is working at getting back into soccer,” he said. “Bastette is unsure of it all but I have faith that Briar’s a smart child and will admit when she’s in over her head.”</p><p>“Always seeing the good in a bad situation,” he said. “You sure you’ve disassociated from him?”</p><p>“I know what I am, Shadow, and that’s all I care about regarding that,” the medic said. Another page flip. “Hm, besides, there have been some strange things in the reaction to the blood. Nothing fatal, but Gerald saw it before with Maria.”</p><p>“Oh?” Shadow said. “It isn’t bad, is it?”</p><p>“Not bad, but not good either. Just an observed side effect that I don’t <em> quite </em>know what to make of.” He read over his pages again. “Hallucinations.”</p><p>“Oh, those. Yeah, I think I remember those,” Shadow said. “Maria would tell me about these dreams she had about a dark and damp place where the walls leaked ooze and radiated purple mist.” His mind went to the Black Comet, but he shoved that place from his mind again. He didn’t wanna go back to that nightmare of a place either.</p><p>“Hm… yeah, seems to check out pretty well from what I’ve heard with Briar.” Sylphic said. “We’re getting off track. I’ll see you tomorrow and we can talk about your stress levels.”</p><p>“Okay,” Shadow groaned, and he ended the call and buried his head into the cushion of the couch. He was done talking to the hybrid and frankly done talking with anybody else. He had a mission he was supposed to be on and instead he was wasting his time.</p><p>He stood up and started typing out a message on his notepad app, but drew a blank before heading to his calendar and adding “stress check” to his appointment tomorrow. At least he wouldn’t need to cancel anything for tomorrow.</p><p>As he stood, he noticed the figure sitting in the kitchen and jumped a bit. “Rouge, how long have you-“</p><p>“Geesh, I just got back,” she said. “I know you called Syll but I only heard the end of it.”</p><p>“How exactly did you get in?” he asked. "I locked the door."</p><p>She silently pointed to the open window in the kitchen. </p><p>“Oh,” he said. Another pain hit his chest. “Rouge, can we talk?”</p><p>“Sure, what about?” she asked.</p><p>“Um,” he paused. The words remained trapped behind sealed lips.</p><p>The bat smiled. “Look, I get it. You didn’t ask for that kiss and I screwed up, okay?”</p><p>“That’s not what I was going to say,” Shadow replied, walking into the kitchen area. “I was going to say that I…” Another falter left Shadow tightly clenching his fist. He could feel the claws beneath his gloves threatening to pierce his palm. “I need time to think.”</p><p>“About?” Rouge asked. </p><p>“About us,” Shadow said. “What you did there, it was—“</p><p>“A mistake, I know,” Rouge said. She held up one of her hands, where a glittering green gem sat waiting like a tiger ready to pounce. “I can fix it though.”</p><p>“What, that’s not what I—“ Shadow’s eyes widened. “Is that another… Rouge, put that down, that thing is dangerous.”</p><p>The bat grinned. “Seven chimes.”</p><p>A flash went off, and Shadow made a short yelp as his eyes momentarily flashed green before rolling backwards. He collapsed to the floor and groaned.</p><p>Rouge went down into a kneel and carefully shook him, frowning that the execution of the gem’s abilities wasn’t as graceful as she had intended. There was no way to tell if it worked without him awake.</p><p>As Shadow came to, though, there was something very <em> off </em>about his mannerisms. “Huh, what is—“ He looked at Rouge and jumped. “Hey, what is—“ He stopped and held his throat, only to look down at his hands in disbelief as he caught a glance at them. He backed up against the counter. “What the heck is going on?”</p><p>Rouge grew concerned. “Shadow, do you remember me?” she asked, fearing the stone had indeed played a joke and erased his memories. </p><p>“Shadow? What do you mean, ‘Shadow’? I’m—“ Shadow caught a glance of himself in the stove on the opposite counter. “Oh, you can’t be serious right now…” he defeatedly said. </p><p>Rouge was concerned. This was anything but the reaction she was expecting. She watched his body language- a looser and more confident bend to his back, a mouth that refused to extend too far into a frown, eyes that somehow looked less intense than usual- and decided to run a test.</p><p>She stood up and clicked over to the fridge. “So Shadow, how’d that race go on Tuesday? The one with the kid?”</p><p>“Oh, uh…” Shadow said, floundering for words. “It went pretty well.”</p><p>“That’s good, that’s good,” Rouge said. “Hey do you want cola or an energy drink?”</p><p>“Um, I’ll take the cola if that’s oka—“</p><p>She shut the fridge a little hard with the can in her hand. “Okay, the jig’s up,” she said. “Shadow doesn’t drink caffeine past 6pm. Who are you?”</p><p>Shadow nervously grinned. “Rouge, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”</p><p>She knelt in front of him and slammed her arm into the cabinet before staring him in the eyes. “Talk before you regret keeping quiet.”</p><p>Shadow swallowed and sighed. “Rouge, don’t freak out, but… it’s me, Sonic.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Skates for Sneaks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow and Sonic both realize that their own worst nightmare has come true- their bodies have been switched. Fortunately, Rouge and Bastette begin formulating a plan to switch them back, but first the party is crashed by Eggman... chasing a strange alien.  Meanwhile, Akshi begins to investigate another Eye's appearance.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow grimaced as he carefully picked himself off the ground. He was covered in wet fallen leaves, and his whole body felt vulnerable. Not necessarily because he was vulnerable, but because he felt nothing radiating from inside him like he normally did. His physical frame felt like it was as airy as the wind around him.</p><p>His lower left arm throbbed a bit as he tried to steady himself. He never felt pain for that long, normally it fixed itself as quickly as it had arrived. But the lingering shooting pain left him clutching his arm as though he’d stubbed a toe.</p><p>As he sat up he hissed at the swollen black eye he seemed to have gained and looked at his surroundings. The Eye must have sent him to some sort of strange forest dimension- there were trees everywhere and it was dark. But from beyond he could hear the faint sound of fireworks and a familiar voice call from above.</p><p>“Sonic!” Bastette shouted, sliding down the hill. "Are you okay? You took a nasty fall.”</p><p>Definitely not a forest dimension. Theory busted.</p><p>Shadow looked at her. “I’m not—“ he stopped himself from speaking for a moment. “This isn’t… I’m not…”</p><p>That was <em>Sonic’s </em>voice, not his. He looked down at himself, where he spotted blue and peach. No white tuft of fur, no red stripes. No inhibitors or jets, just lightweight gloves and a set of sneakers with gold buckles.</p><p>This couldn’t be happening. There was no way this could be happening to him. </p><p>“Sonic, you’re acting really weird,” she said, reaching her hand out. “Are you okay? Is your arm okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Shadow replied, drawing back a bit. His voice was bristled like his thoughts. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“Well, we were headed home to make sure that Tails knows you’re okay, but—“</p><p>“I can’t,” Shadow said. “I can’t be seen there.”</p><p>“Whoa, slow down, you just said that—“</p><p>“I know what I said,” Shadow replied. He had no idea what had been said. He just knew he had to continue the façade. “Tell Tails I’m alright, and that she needs to talk to Rouge right away. It’ll explain itself soon enough.”</p><p>Bastette sighed. “Why don’t I just call her and—“</p><p>“No!” Shadow said. Sonic’s voice erupted from his throat and bounced off the trees. He quickly quieted himself. “I can’t talk to Rouge right now. She…” He could still feel the pains in his chest. “Text Tails to meet with her. I… I need to go…”</p><p>“You aren’t going anywhere, you still need to tell Tails how you—“</p><p>Shadow revved up and tried to push forward like he was on his jets, but just ended up slipping in the mud and falling over.</p><p>Bastette held a hand out. “Wow, that was a serious failure in execution. You’re really messed up about Tails, aren’t you? That or the bat gave you a concussion…”</p><p>Shadow stayed quiet and rubbed at his now peach-colored arms. </p><p>She grabbed his good arm and walked him back to the house, all the way back in absolute silence, giving Shadow time to think. He stared down at Sonic’s shoes and frowned.</p><p>This had to be a nightmare. The stone must have put him into some sort of nightmare world. There was no way that being stuck as Sonic was something that would be close to enjoyable. He squirmed at the very thought of it, but since he was stuck he felt like he was in an endless dance of emotional writhing.</p><p>He felt at his gloved wrists. No inhibitors, of course. He slipped his finger below the cuff and felt at the skin below. A pulse, fast like lightning and steady as a drum. He expected no less.</p><p>His shoes weighed so much less now. He felt almost weightless.</p><p>“Sonic?” Bastette asked. </p><p>“Huh?” Shadow replied, snapping out of his daze.</p><p>“You’ve been standing there for a minute just looking at yourself. Are you sure she didn’t give you a concussion or something?”</p><p>“I…” Shadow paused, realizing they’d reached the house. “No, it’s fine.”</p><p>He entered the house, where the party had continued. Shadow stared at Tails for a moment, who only stared back. He awkwardly shuffled to the cooler for a beverage but maintained eye contact. </p><p>“Um… Sonic?” Tails asked. “What happened to your eye?” </p><p>“I…” Shadow wasn’t sure how Sonic got the black eye to begin with. Did he hit a sharp rock when he tumbled? He pulled a lemonade from the cooler and placed it over his eye. “It’s fine, you know I’ve had worse,” he said, trying to crack a smile. It wasn’t easy, given how creeped out this entire situation left him.</p><p>“I think that he might have hurt his arm, too,” Bastette said. </p><p>Amy grinned. “I’ll go get a sling. Just wait right there, darling!” she said, and she ran off to a room nearby.</p><p>So this was where the blue blur lived when he wasn’t out on an adventure with his friends, the same house where he'd first heard about Sylphic. He never really cared to notice the details but he now had more time. A lowered living room area with green sofas facing a TV over a fireplace, a bookshelf filled with books that Shadow was shocked were on the hedgehog’s reading repertoire, a kitchen behind the living room that matched the rest of the open floor plan and had a few barstools at the island, and a hallway to the left of the fireplace that lead into a small assortment of rooms, one of which Amy had disappeared to. It was comfy and cozy, and surprisingly uncluttered, save for a few spots here and there.</p><p>“Sonic?” Tails asked from the couch. </p><p>Shadow had been caught in thought again. “Y-yes?” he asked, stepping forward. </p><p>“You’re acting really weird all of a sudden,” Tails said. “Rouge kicked you <em> that </em> hard, huh?”</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. “Yeah, buddy, I suppose she did,” he said, chuckling. </p><p>“Well, at least you’re back. Hey, we were just about to start the movie marathon. Come on, you know it’s my favorite.”</p><p>Amy came back with the sling and carefully began tying it around Shadow’s arm. “And there you go, dearest.”</p><p>A momentary lapse in concentration left Shadow saying “Thank you, Amy.” It was a little too tender.</p><p>Amy paused for a moment before smiling. “You’re welcome…”</p><p>Shadow touched the edge of the cloth and sighed. <em> A movie couldn’t hurt, </em> he thought. <em> If I’m stuck as Sonic I better enjoy being free of responsibility. Even if the company is less than ideal… </em></p><p>Bastette heard a buzz from her phone and looked down to read the text through her lock screen. <em> Don’t tell Tails, </em> it read. It was from Rouge.</p><p>She unlocked her phone and began frantically typing. <em> What do you mean, ‘don’t tell Tails’? What shouldn’t I be telling her? </em></p><p>A few minutes passed before she got her answer.</p><p>
  <em> That isn’t Sonic- that’s Shadow. They switched places, or minds, or something. The point is that Shadow is stuck in Sonic’s body. </em>
</p><p>Bastette looked over at Shadow, who had opened his lemonade and began carefully sipping it. She paused before typing back.</p><p>
  <em> Please tell me you aren’t serious right now. </em>
</p><p><em> I’m dead serious, </em> Rouge replied. <em> I think the stone did something to them. I have Sonic here, but he’s not exactly easy to keep in one place. </em></p><p><em> Oh, YOU THINK? </em> Bastette texted. <em> You better fix this. </em></p><p>
  <em> I’m not sure I know how but I think that Nyx might. She doesn’t have a phone though, does she?  </em>
</p><p><em> No, which means I have to go with Tails tomorrow to see her. </em>Bastette scoffed.</p><p>Knuckles looked at her. “‘Tette, you okay?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine, just got a possible dig site to go to soon,” she lied. <em> You better be grateful I have time this week to burn, </em> she texted Rouge. <em> Otherwise you’d be getting more than an earful of some VERY unladylike words right now. </em></p><p>She looked over at Shadow again. His weird half-lidded half-interested resting face didn’t look like Sonic one bit, and yet nobody else seemed to be tipped off. Especially not Tails, who was oddly cheerful given what happened earlier. What was with Tails, even? She wasn’t making too much eye contact, instead writing down vigorous notes on a yellow-paper notepad.</p><p>She got up from her place on the couch and pulled Shadow’s ear. “Come outside, I need to talk with you.”</p><p>“Ow, ow, ow…” he grumbled. He pushed her hand away. “No need to pinch, I’ll just come outside.”</p><p>She pulled open the door and rounded the corner before stopping him. “Okay, so now that we are clear of the window where nobody can see us- what the heck is going on?”</p><p>“What are you talking about, ‘Tette?” Shadow asked, trying to imitate Sonic’s cadence.</p><p>Bastette held up her phone. “Rouge texted me. Don’t play dumb, Shadow.”</p><p>Shadow hunched over a bit, finally relieved to not have to put up a pretense. “Oh thank goodness,” he said. “This is the worst case scenario. Just look at me, I’m… I’m…”</p><p>“You’re Sonic,” Bastette said.</p><p>“I was going to go for something more demeaning, but I’m just... dumbstruck,” he said. “I mean, the Eye did this, definitely, but—“</p><p>“Rouge had an Eye when she kicked Sonic in the face,” she said. “She must have taken it back to you and used it.”</p><p>“Wait, that’s where he got this? I just thought he fell over like this or something.” He gingerly touched his eye and let out a small chuckle. “Wow, this body is unnaturally frail.”</p><p>“No, normally you’re just unnaturally resilient,” she replied. “How does it feel?”</p><p>“Very cold and <em> very </em>gross,” Shadow replied. “Look, I don’t know how to get back to normal but the more time I spend like this the more exposed I feel.”</p><p>“Well, since Nyx is our resident expert and apparently doesn’t believe in cell phones, I’m headed to Kingdom Valley tomorrow to see if we can fix this.” She paused. “And I hope to take you along. Rouge should be going tomorrow as well with Sonic in tow.”</p><p>Shadow grimaced. “Oh no, that’s not good,” he said. </p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” he said. “I’m getting blood drawn.”</p><p>“Right, for sis,” Bastette replied. “Why? Is that bad?”</p><p>“Not that, but I told him I had an… episode. One where I got ‘stress cardiomyopathy’.”</p><p>“So you had a panic attack,” Bastette said. “That bad, huh?”</p><p>Shadow looked away. “What Luneria did really messed me up, okay?” he muttered. He clutched his chest again.</p><p>“I’m… sorry,” Bastette replied. Her ears downturned a bit.</p><p>Shadow’s gaze shot back up and his hand slightly opened as he held back the urge to comfort her. “You were out of control, and she seized your mind- she <em> used </em> you.” Shadow half felt like he was making excuses, but he knew better than to assert that Bastette would regularly be alright doing that sort of thing. “How did you…. cope with that?” he asked.</p><p>“I realized that I had to take responsibility for my actions,” Bastette said. “That’s why I said I’m sorry. Just because I was out of control doesn’t mean I didn’t hurt you.”</p><p>“Yeah, well… it made me realize how important Rouge was to me, so…”</p><p>“Hey, at least you’re looking on the bright side. Maybe you fit in that body a little more than you think,” she teased.</p><p>Shadow frowned and tapped his foot. “Don’t push it.”</p><p>“Well, until then you need to play the part, so cheer up a little bit, okay?” Bastette said.</p><p>Shadow crossed his arms. “How am I supposed to be happy lookin’ like this?” he asked. His cheeks puffed a bit.</p><p>“<em> Now </em>you’re getting there,” she replied. “Keep it up, you’re doing great on the gerunds.”</p><p>As the two prepared to go back inside, Shadow stopped on the front porch. “Wait… do you hear that?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it sounds like… screaming.”</p><p>From over the hill, the two spied the silhouette of a figure flying through the night towards them, swiftly pursued by a certain Doctor. Before either of them could say a word to each other, the grey creature crashed through the front window and tumbled across the couch full of people before hiding beneath it. “Don’t let him take me away,” she said.</p><p>Shadow ran inside and looked under the couch, where he spotted a rather curious sight.</p><p>The trembling figure was a small Black Arms creature. Two arms, two legs, relatively anthropoid like him, with a set of slicked back spines and a pair of wings that weren’t quite batlike or insectoid. Grey with bright red highlights, the mark of the Black Arms race. She was small too, perhaps only as tall as Cream or Briar, if that. And her tail was pointed and nervously flicked back and forth as she hid.</p><p>But clutched within her hand was a familiar sight to Shadow, and his key to mobility- a blue Chaos Emerald.</p><p>Tails, Amy, and Knuckles were already out the door and gearing up to fight. Shadow looked at Bastette. “Keep the thing under the couch here until I get back.”</p><p>From outside, the Doctor’s voice called. “Hope I’m not barging in!”</p><hr/><p>“Could you <em> please </em>let me go?” Sonic asked. “The radiator is hot.” He fiddled with his handcuffs as he tried to pull himself away from the heating fixture.</p><p>Rouge was still texting. “I need to let Bastette know you’re okay.”</p><p>“I’m not okay, you’re gonna— ow!— burn the crap outta me!” the teen yelled. Shadow’s voice was cracking slightly as he spoke.</p><p>“Well if you hadn’t tried to escape out the bathroom window,” she said, “you wouldn’t be in this position, would you now?”</p><p>Sonic grumbled. “Rouge, this isn’t funny!”</p><p>“I don’t know, you still haven’t realized you can easily escape and it’s been at least ten minutes,” she said. “Surely you of all people would be a little bit more observant.”</p><p>“Lady, I don’t need your trash talk,” he said. </p><p>She sat up and pulled a white, oddly-shaped gun from her bookshelf. Sonic flinched. Even though it looked more like a temperature reader than a glock, any unknown piece of machinery was enough to freak him out, especially now that he was in some else’s body in someone else’s house in the presence of someone whose allegiances weren’t entirely clear.</p><p>“Relax,” she said. “It doesn’t shoot bullets or anything.” She carefully adjusted the muzzle against his neck and clicked down the button.</p><p>Sonic hissed as he felt whatever hit him dig in deep. “What is your deal!?” he shouted.</p><p>Rouge played with the keys as she started to loosen the handcuffs. “If I turn you loose without a tracker I’ll never find you,” she explained. “I’m not just gonna let you wander. So I stuck a tracker on you.”</p><p>Sonic sighed as she unhooked him, rubbing at his wrists indignantly. “You didn’t need to go through that whole song and dance,” he said. “I would have just done it.”</p><p>“We both know that’s a lie,” she replied. “In any case, I can’t get the stone to change you back.”</p><p>Sonic’s spines stood on end. “You mean I’m stuck like this?” he asked. “You gotta be joking!” His voice cracked again.</p><p>“What, he’s not good enough for you?” she asked.</p><p>“He’s not <em> fast </em>enough for me,” the hedgehog replied.</p><p>“Last I recall, he can keep up with you,” Rouge said. </p><p>“Yeah right, maybe if I’m holding back,” Sonic said. </p><p>“And why are you holding back?” Rouge asked with a grin. “You two have a healthy rivalry going, don’t string him along like that.”</p><p>“I…” Sonic stopped, clearly caught off guard by her phrasing. “Shut up.”</p><p>Rouge smiled. “Here,” she said, tossing him the can of Cola. “Shadow doesn’t drink caffeine this late but, well, you aren’t Shadow.” She beckoned him into the kitchen.</p><p>Sonic followed and looked down at his new body. The shoes were definitely heavy, and he could only imagine that it was because of the jets underneath. Carefully, he pushed forward with one of them, and he automatically began to glide. He teetered a bit as his foot skated forward and he tried to pull it back, only for it to slip back and send him falling forward. </p><p>Rouge tried not to laugh as Sonic’s face slammed into the floor, but her breath staggered as she held it in. “Are y-you okay?” she asked.</p><p>“How does he move in these?” he asked, his face half muffled by the floor.</p><p>Rouge lifted him off the ground by his shoulder. “I don’t know, I don’t wear them.”</p><p>Sonic groaned, clutching his head. “That’s gonna take some getting used to…”</p><p>Rouge frowned and looked at the stone. “It talked to me before, but it won’t talk to me now,” she said. </p><p>“Well, what did it say before?” Sonic asked, carefully sitting down and bending the tab of the soda. His hands ached slightly and he looked down to where the inhibitors were firmly locked around his wrists. They felt like invisible chains that extended into somewhere he couldn’t see or feel. It was… unnerving, to say the least.</p><p>“The Garnet told me it would “change his mind”... I guess it meant it literally,” she said. “This wasn’t at all what I needed.” Her eyes became soft and downturned, and they even started to glisten.</p><p>Sonic frowned, and his eyes looked away. He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle Rouge getting this upset. “Hey, don’t cry.”</p><p>Rouge sniffled but paid no attention to his request. “He’s going to hate me.”</p><p>Sonic swallowed and clenched his fist slightly. “Rouge, stop that.”</p><p>“What?” </p><p>“Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Sonic said, grabbing her shoulder. “If you keep doing that, you won’t get anything done. And you won’t be able to fix this.” He paused. “Why did you want to change his mind, anyways?”</p><p>Rouge wiped her eyes but still refused to look him in the face. “I saw something when I was turned into a rock,” she said. “It told me I wanted to disappear. But someone else, someone who’s trapped in that world, told me that voice was lying and that what I needed was love.”</p><p>“So you tried to put the moves on Shadow?” Sonic said. “He isn’t exactly the most huggable, you know.”</p><p>“I didn’t just try,” Rouge said. “I kissed him.”</p><p>“Wha?” Sonic said. His face blushed up out of embarrassment- this was clearly not information he needed to hear. Worse, Shadow’s mouth was his mouth now, and that made him squirm even more. “A-and how did that bowl over?” he managed to say.</p><p>“He got up and left me alone,” she said. “And I guess he came all the way back here.”</p><p>Sonic nodded. “Listen, take it from a guy who knows what it’s like to be chased by a girl- desperation is not a good color on anybody.”</p><p>“Am I really <em> that </em>desperate?” Rouge asked. Not necessarily to him, but in general she asked.</p><p>Sonic thought for a moment. “Girls have always been a sore spot for me. And it isn’t because they’re girls. Amy is... obsessive, she’s <em> doting </em>.”</p><p>Rouge nodded. “And you don’t wanna be around someone who’s like that?” she gravely asked, already judging the implication. Her eyes were downcast yet again, and she bit her lip, waiting for the inevitable.</p><p>“No,” the hedgehog replied. The grumble of Shadow’s voice with Sonic’s words echoed through the empty kitchen. Rogue’s gaze upturned again, but Sonic's gaze was still in search of the right words. This wasn’t an easy topic to discuss with anybody for him.</p><p>“No, that’s not why I keep rejecting her, either,” he said. “She’s a great friend- amazing, in fact. She’d probably be my best friend if I had never met Tails. But…” He struggled to find the words. “We’d be <em> toxic </em>in a relationship. More toxic than one of Egghead’s chemical plants.”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “Toxic?”</p><p>“It would be selfish of me to have her to myself,” he said. ”I don’t know why, but I know it would be selfish.”</p><p>Rouge looked at him. “What do I do? He’s going to hate—“</p><p>“Stop!” Sonic shouted. “Enough of that!”</p><p>Rouge swallowed hard. “What am I supposed to do? Just pretend like I didn’t break his trust? Just pretend like nothing happened? He’s hurt and I hurt him, and he’ll never forgive me!” she yelled.</p><p>Sonic stood up. “Look, I’ve been there. I’ve been like that for the past two hours!” he said. “Tails really hurt me too, but that’s the thing- you realize that there’s a reason why people do things and you work to find an answer, or else you’ll never get along again.” He sat back down and calmed down again. “I still haven’t been able to apologize for leaving her like that. Maybe Shadow feels guilty for leaving you, too.”</p><p>Rouge bit her lip and held back tears. “I still don’t get it,” she said.</p><p>“Do I seriously need to repeat myself?” Sonic groaned. He was clearly exhausted from the taxing emotions of this mess of a bat in front of him. “Okay, from the top, I—“</p><p>“No, I got that part,” she replied.</p><p>“Then what don’t you understand?”</p><p>Rouge was trembling a bit. “Why… why didn’t I feel anything when we kissed? No fluttering, no <em> anything </em>.”</p><p>Sonic stood up and took her hand, hoping for her help to get back to the living room. “Maybe… <em> you </em> don’t love him like that.”</p><hr/><p>The wind had shifted, and not in the way he expected. No simple dreamer could have come to inhabit that plane, nor could any other force than an Eye have produced the foul aura. Gently, the blue bird rose from his perch and sighed. He was not thrilled to see a return of such a malevolent force as this.</p><p>Akshi adjusted the black pilot’s jacket he’d recently made for himself. According to his Guardian it “looked better”, but all the parakeet could really ask was what exactly they were piloting. When he explained what a plane was, it seemed redundant. They already lived in the sky- why leave to return to the ground?</p><p>That world seemed so alien he feared that if returning were possible he’d fail to adapt. What sort of strange realm would it be? Knuckles had spoken of cars and bicycles and airplanes but… it was certainly not an easy matter to grasp.</p><p>He walked to the edge of the pavement where it dropped off into the white of the Dreamscape. He gingerly fingered the triangular piece of rose quartz he hung around his neck as he searched the empty horizon for any signs of the change. As he registered a change in the wind again, he watched as the first structure rose.</p><p>It was a city in neon, bustling with hundreds of those cars that the Guardian had spoken of. Akshi grinned, trying to parse out whose headspace it was, before a hot buzz radiated from the feathers on his chest. He looked down and felt at the stone again, and as it settled, so did the city. This was Rouge’s place, without a doubt. </p><p>Akshi was impressed by the scale of it. He couldn’t count how wide it was, partially because he was too busy marveling at it but mostly because he didn’t understand or have reference for what a mile looked like. He stood up and looked at the skyline, which seemed to be eternally caught at night. The skyscrapers looked amazing from where he was, but he figured they’d be even better from inside.</p><p>It was then that he noticed the green eye-shaped gem glittering over the city like a full moon. He breathed in and then out again, and the edges of his beak parted.</p><p>“Dammit.”</p><p>He touched the stone one last time before calling up to the sky. “Hey Guardian, you awake?”</p><p><em> “I’m a little bit busy right now,” </em> Knuckles said. <em> “Can’t this wait?” </em></p><p>“Afraid not,” Akshi said. He smirked as he heard an audible groan from above. “Listen, I don’t know about you, but I think Rouge might have messed with another Eye. I’m gonna go check things out here. Keep me posted.” He turned away from the drop off and smiled. This was his favorite part of any adventure.</p><p><em> “Where are you going?” </em>Knuckles asked.</p><p>“You know… out,” he said, falling backwards and off the island.</p><p>
  <em> “You know how dangerous it is out there, right? If I have to put you back together again, I swear…” </em>
</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I got it, no need to babysit me,” Akshi replied. “Just get some confirmation out there, and make sure that Eye isn’t attached to her. And get back to the Island as soon as you can, do your duties.”</p><p><em> I don’t need to hear crap from a talking rock, </em> Knuckles replied. <em> Or a mouthy bird for that matter. </em></p><p>Akshi closed his eyes, grinning as he felt a small section of the empty world unravel into black around him like ribbon and gather below his body. Carefully it gripped him and lifted him up like a pillow, and at that point he stood on what had formed into a white cloud. <em> Nailed the landing, </em> he thought.</p><p>He began flying down towards where the city began and jumped off his cloud, skidding to a halt at the edge of the color that had seeped through. His necklace hummed as he entered, and his fingers went to hush it again. The piece acted as a key, and he just accessed the apartment.</p><p>“Now, to find out how the Eye got here,” he said, heading off into the city streets. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Freckles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow learns that the Black Arms and its leader aren't as dead as he thought, as does Sonic, thanks to the Black Arms Hivemind. A call from Tails leaves Sonic having to act like Shadow in front of his best friend.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow ran out front with the rest of the team and immediately was stumped on what to say. He was normally pretty good about avoiding staircase wit but when he had a comeback it was often too dark compared to Sonic. He frowned not knowing where to begin the conversation.</p><p>Eggman, without skipping a beat, was kind enough to initiate it for him and everyone else as he rode high in the sky on his Egg Carrier. “Oh ho ho ho! I see you’re having a little get together. And is that Tails I see? That’s a new look for you. It’s nice though- fitting for your funeral.”</p><p>Shadow frowned in sync with Tails. He had to come up with something to say, and fast. “Keep your trap shut, Eggman,” he shouted. “Tails looks great.” He jumped upwards and began spin-dashing towards the Doctor.</p><p>Tails kicked off her sandals and clicked her heels, producing the Straightwinds from the rings around her ankles. “What do you want?” she asked.</p><p>As the Doctor reeled back from a knock from Shadow, he chuckled. “I only came for the Chaos Emerald and the thing that’s hiding in the house, but I don’t mind the chance to kill two birds with one stone.” He looked at the group. “Er, five birds…”</p><p>Bastette came out onto the porch. “You’re not going anywhere near the poor thing!” she said. “She’s going to stay right…” she paused. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Knuckles shouted. </p><p>“It went out the back door,” she said.</p><p>Eggman immediately gave chase, and Tails followed. The Straightwinds handled the grass surprisingly well, and as she continued to glide through the clearing she closed in on the small grey darkling.</p><p>“Hey, wait!” she said, trying to outrun the Egg Carrier. “You can’t keep running, he’ll get you!”</p><p>“Stay out of my way!” she squeaked, trying to focus on moving forward. “I have to get the Emerald back to—“ Her words were cut short with a thud.</p><p>Tails skidded next to her as the alien sat against the bottom of a tree stump. She wasn’t large at all, maybe only two feet, and her tiny limbs made her appear even smaller. The alien shakily stood back up and jumped at the fox’s presence. “Don’t eat me…”</p><p>Tails reached out a hand so she could steady herself. “What? Why would I do something like that?” she asked.</p><p>The reply was cut short and a claw extended and grabbed the little alien and the gem she had. Tails refused to let go. “Let her go, Eggman, she’s scared.”</p><p>“If she hadn’t escaped containment, she wouldn’t have a reason to be scared!” he replied, vigorously shaking his controls to get the fox off of his catch. “Get your grubby mitts off of them both!”</p><p>As he went to pry the fox away with his other appendage, a blue bolt shot through the cockpit. Shadow began wrestling with the Doctor as he tried to press button after button to break down the machine. “You little blue pest, I should have exterminated the two of you months ago!”</p><p>“Tsk tsk, Doctor,” Shadow teased. Now he was hitting a stride, and a grin broke across his face. “If you wanted to do it so bad, that little oversight isn’t <em> my </em>fault.”</p><p>“What?” The Doctor asked, a little confused.</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “Looks like your brain’s slower than the rest of ya after all.” He leaped from the cockpit as the circuit shorted, dropping them all to the ground and releasing the alien from the robot’s grasp.</p><p>Tails helped her up, but soon Eggman was already on the attack, having snuck an emergency propulsion unit on board the carrier. He strapped it to his back. “You’re not getting away that easy!”</p><p>“Tails,” Shadow said. “I need you to listen to me <em> very clearly </em>.” He began moving towards the small creature.</p><p>Tails silently tilted her head.</p><p>“Tomorrow, Shadow is getting blood drawn and has an evaluation. Meet him <em> at Syll’s office by 11. </em>I’ll explain later.” He picked up the alien and cradled her in his arms before wrestling the blue Chaos Emerald from her grip. </p><p>As Eggman rocketed towards Shadow, he held the gem up. “Chaos Control!”</p><p>The rush was different by a country mile. Whereas Shadow normally experienced a simple bend in timespace that felt like a moment of vertigo now felt like a full-on overload. He had to concentrate harder than before on his threat. But luckily, he still had the focus.</p><p>Unluckily, the focus wasn’t enough to keep Tails out of the radius of the field as everything came to a standstill, and Shadow hurriedly turned and bolted through the woods beyond. Tails wasn’t fast enough to see him leave, but something was clearly off about what just happened, and she did notice <em> that. </em></p><p>When Shadow disappeared beyond the tree line and time shifted back to normal for her, Tails paused and put a finger to her chin. “That’s… far too odd to be a coincidence.”</p><hr/><p>As Shadow carried the alien clinging to his arm he passed a network of tree roots overhanging to form a small cave. Thinking as quick as he could, he ducked under the strange cover and held the little one’s mouth closed. “Shh, he’s coming.”</p><p>The Doctor whizzed overhead and went off into the distance. The two of them stared at the light of the jets until it was no longer visible, at which point Shadow uncupped his hand.</p><p>“Okay, start talking,” Shadow said. “How did you escape the Eclipse Cannon?” he said.</p><p>“The… what? The Eclipse Cannon?” she asked. “I woke up in that man’s lab. I don’t remember much before then.” She paused. “I’m sorry, everything else I know is what was programmed at the brood chambers.”</p><p>Shadow shuddered. That phrase sounded slimy against his ears. “So you don’t remember when your friends showed up here and tried to enslave everybody?”</p><p>“Hmmmm… nope!” she said. “I mean, I keep hearing a voice but I know it’s just Master calling me home.”</p><p>“Home?” Shadow asked. “Wait, Master?”</p><p>He thought about the Black Arms incident. His body ached from the strain he’d felt when he had broken free of the mind control. It wasn’t even his own body now but the memory of every vein activating and sending him into paralysis still haunted him. Not as much as recent events, but even so the vision was a terror.</p><p>If her Master was alive, that only spelled trouble. “Your Master is alive?”</p><p>“Well obviously,” the alien said. “Conservation of a collective mind is how we survive. So long as there’s a body to escape to, the head of our colony will ultimately return, however diminished his state may be.”</p><p>Shadow swallowed hard. Black Doom, by her implication, <em>was</em> still alive. He slowly slid his hand against his now bare chest, and he felt his heart beating faster.</p><p>“Sir, what’s wrong?” she asked. </p><p>“Black Doom is alive,” he muttered. </p><p>“Well, Dire Doom, now,” she said. “He will likely choose a new form should someone supplant him. We are low on forces and there’s no way to make brooding chambers, so whoever is left will be the last of his stock.”</p><p>“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Shadow said aloud.</p><p>“Well, I’m just stating facts,” the alien replied. “I’m… not sure how to feel personally. I haven’t had a lot of personal time since I was made. I’m a Super Soldier built as a backup in case his other project failed him.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. She was talking about him and he knew it. “Project Shadow…” he muttered.</p><p>The alien hurriedly went to hush him, covering his mouth with both of her tiny hands. “Shush, he’s listening…”</p><p>Her pupils shrunk a bit as she slowly backed away and stared out into the rain that had begun to fall. The mist slowly rose from the ground as the drops cooled the otherwise humid and warm soil. The alien wrung her hands as she quietly listened.</p><p>Shadow couldn’t hear anything. He clutched his forehead, realizing that this body was no longer tapped into the hivemind. <em> Dire Doom could be saying anything, and I wouldn’t be able to hear, </em>he thought.</p><p><em> Wait, </em> he then thought. <em> That means that Sonic… </em></p><hr/><p>Sonic was sitting back on the couch, about to watch a movie as Rouge brought over popcorn. He was not happy by any means with this arrangement, but he couldn’t stand seeing anybody cry. Plus, it was popcorn and movies- a good way to bide his time until morning.</p><p>Rouge sat next to him and put a pillow on his lap before plopping her head down. “I’m sorry,” she said.</p><p>“That’s the tenth time you’ve said that,” Sonic replied. “You can’t keep doing that.”</p><p>“Then what am I supposed to say?” she asked.</p><p>He thought for a moment. “How about… ‘Thank you for being patient with me, I’m going through a lot right now’?”</p><p>“Thank you for—“</p><p>“Well you can’t say it now!”</p><p>“Why not?” the bat asked. </p><p>“Because,” Sonic said, trying to shift to get comfortable, “the moment’s passed and now it would sound forced.”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “His voice doesn’t match your cadence at all.”</p><p>“I know,” Sonic said. “It sucks! I mean, how am I supposed to laugh without sounding weird?”</p><p>“Well hopefully the movie will fix that, it is a comedy,” she said. “Well, the group is kinda independent but over in Spagonia they’re all the rage.”</p><p>“Okay, well I guess I’ll give it a go, what’s it about?” Sonic asked, getting some popcorn and tossing it into the air. He carefully caught it in his mouth with a crunch.</p><p>Rouge smiled, seeing how Sonic’s strange mannerisms made the once stoic and moody Shadow look leagues less threatening. She wanted to comment on how <em> adorable </em>it was, but she instead shimmied her hips further into the cushion of the couch. As she brushed her head against the pillow, she noticed a strange dark teal stain on it, and frown. “Ugh, seriously?” she asked.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Sonic asked. He noticed that her eyeshadow was smudged against her cheek. “Oh,” he said.</p><p>“It’s fine, I’ll be right back,” Rouge said, jumping up from the couch and hurriedly heading into her bedroom.</p><p>Sonic was left alone as the film started. “What was that about?” he wondered aloud. “Is she really that worried about how she looks?” He frowned. He’d never really seen someone that unhappy with themselves. It was a foreign thing to him- he always had the confidence he needed to stay level-headed, and very rarely did he ever take things personally.</p><p><em> Until today </em> , he thought. <em> I thought I was over what Tails did but… she really really cut me deep. And maybe she didn’t mean it to, but it still hurt. </em> He stared at Rouge's closed bedroom door and wondered if Tails was as sorry for her mistake as Rouge was feeling right now. Maybe the fox was scared that Sonic would hate her after that?</p><p><em> But Tails is a kid, and she’s still learning a lot, </em> Sonic thought. <em> She makes mistakes, just like all of us. </em></p><p>“<em> Shadow,” </em> a voice called. <em> “I’ve come back at last.” </em></p><p>Sonic jumped and looked around. “W-Who… who said that?” he said. </p><p>A vision flashed in his mind like a memory- a big, red eye staring down at him. He clutched his head as a splitting pain hit him. </p><p>
  <em> “Your flagrant disobedience will not go unpunished any longer. Once I find my means to destroy you, I will take what was rightfully mine and destroy this useless rock.” </em>
</p><p>“Where are you?” Sonic said, springing to his feet. He expected a fight, but he couldn’t see anything remotely threatening that could have made the sound. </p><p>
  <em> “You don’t get to ask questions, Shadow. I gave you every chance to obey, and you deliberately went out of your way to destroy my precious colony. Now I will end your little world, your little friends, and your pathetic meager existence like the insect I created you to be.” </em>
</p><p>Sonic’s eyes began to water from the pain of the headache. “You and what army? We destroyed you, you couldn’t have come back!”</p><p>
  <em> “The Black Arms Hivemind allows me to relocate myself to another form. I am alive and well, and though my forces are diminished, one of your human cattle has unwittingly done me the service of collecting and containing a portion of my remaining troops. I will not die.” </em>
</p><p>“Eggman…” he breathed. “There’s no way it <em> isn’t </em>him.”</p><p><em> “A foot soldier already escaped his grasp and is out on the hunt. Do not disappoint me, Blue </em> . <em> ” </em></p><p>A strange new voice echoed through the pain. It was smaller and quieter, but also more innocent and uncertain. “<em> I will not… father…” </em> she spoke. </p><p>Sonic gasped as he was violently thrown from the communications line. “What the… what was that?” he shouted aloud. “I…”</p><p>He looked at a small paper notebook on the coffee table and hurriedly wrote down whatever he could remember with a push pen, which wasn’t that much. Something about coming back, something something Eggman… all of it was punctuated by a still-throbbing headache. He didn’t seem to notice the familiar handwriting on the already- written pages.</p><p>Rouge exited her room wearing a nightgown, and Sonic hurriedly shut the notebook before sitting up. “H-Hey Rouge!” Sonic replied. “Long time, no--”</p><p>“It’s been three minutes,” Rouge said. “That doesn’t work.”</p><p>“Sorry, force of habit,” the hedgehog replied. His eyes glanced to the notebook but then back to Rouge’s face. “You look different.” It was then that he noticed that whenever she blinked, her eyelids were white. Her lips weren’t quite as pink as before, either. </p><p>“Is it a good different?” she asked.</p><p>“Yeah, actually. You don’t look like you’re going out to dinner,” he said, sitting back down.</p><p>“Normally I don’t let anybody see me like this, kinda ruins the ‘femme fatale’ image I’m going for,” she said. “But since you’re going to be here overnight, I shouldn’t sleep in my makeup.” She sighed, looking at the cream-colored pillow sham where she’d smeared her eyeshadow before. “I just got those…” she muttered. </p><p>“Hey, mistakes happen,” Sonic said. He flipped the pillow over and patted it. “Come on, you never pressed play. Let’s watch this movie so you can feel a little better.”</p><p>He paused, looking down at his hands. <em> Am I connected to Black Doom now? Was this always a thing? </em> he wondered. <em> Is this just part of Shadow’s body? </em></p><p>As they watched the movie, Sonic could feel a grin break over his face, and before long, he belted out a loud, boisterous laugh. It wasn’t even that great of a joke, but the delivery was so perfect that he couldn’t help himself. A tear streaked down his face from how hard he laughed, and it wasn’t until he caught Rouge staring at him that he stopped. “What?” he asked. “It was funny.”</p><p>“I’ve… never heard Shadow laugh that hard. Is that what that sounds like then?” she asked.</p><p>“I guess so,” Sonic said. “Are you gonna miss it when we get this fixed?” he asked.</p><p>“Maybe a little, but probably not- you’re kinda scary when it’s his voice.”</p><p>“Well, what does he laugh like?” Sonic asked.</p><p>“Beats me, I’ve never heard him laugh that hard, not even close.” She paused. “But <em>that</em> joke does get him to crack a grin every time. Maybe you two aren’t so different after all.”</p><p>Her body curled as she slowly but surely fell asleep. As the ending finally rolled around, Sonic carefully lifted the pillow with her head on it and slid his thigh out from underneath before setting it down. Then he grabbed the blanket that stood draped over the couch and pulled it over her. The sound of rain became apparent as the movie stopped its music, and he realized her hearing had picked it up and lulled her to sleep as he dropped the blanket over her shoulder.</p><p>As his hand brushed her notched ear after tucking her in, he noticed something he hadn’t seen before on her face, something that made sense but he couldn’t have seen when concealed under all of her makeup. Now that she was asleep, it became ever clear how deep those insecurities went.</p><p>Across the bridge of her nose, over the hills of her rosy cheeks, and all the way up her arms to her shoulders, there were countless stars upon stars of marshmallow-brown freckles.</p><p>He smiled. "You look better with freckles, Rouge," he muttered. "If only you knew that..."</p><p>A soft vibration came from the end table beside the couch. On the caller ID was Tails, with a little wrench emoji next to her name. Sonic began to panic, not even sure how to handle the situation. Rouge stirred, but Sonic put his hand on it first and nodded. “Go back to sleep, Rouge, I’ll get it,” he said. His voice sounded strangely stern as he pensively rehearsed the cadence of his rival.</p><p>The bat slipped back asleep with little sigh. “Thank you… Shadow…” she drowsily muttered.</p><p>Sonic smiled. He <em>was</em> getting the hang of it. He frowned as he pressed down the button. “Tails?”</p><p>“O-oh, Shadow. Um… is Rouge asleep?” she asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” Sonic replied. “We were watching a movie and she fell asleep.”</p><p>“Well, that’s probably for the better,” the fox said. “We’re clearing out of Sonic’s place, but I need to talk to you about something.”</p><p>“Yeah, kid?” Sonic said. He carefully paced back and forth around the living room. “What’s that?”</p><p>“Um…” Tails paused. “Sonic went… missing. There was a weird creature that came into the house that looked like some sort of Black Arms alien. I thought that maybe if I talked to you, I could get some information. You had a lot of experience with Black Doom, so you’d be the expert.”</p><p>“Well, yes, but…” he swallowed. He looked over to his notes. “Do you mind if I were to come over there?” he asked. “I don’t want to wake Rouge.”</p><p>“Sure, that’s fine,” she replied. “Are you… feeling okay? I heard you had a panic attack.”</p><p><em> Shadow had a panic attack? </em> Sonic wondered to himself. <em> What for? I didn’t even know that was possible for the guy, he doesn’t seem high-strung at all… </em></p><p>“Does word really spread that fast?” he said. “I don’t remember telling anybody that.”</p><p>“Well, you told Syll right?” the fox asked. “Because that’s how I learned.”</p><p>“Right,” Sonic said. “Um… Are <em> you </em>okay?” he asked. “You seem like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”</p><p>“Things didn’t go quite as planned with Sonic,” Tails said. “I’d rather talk about it in person. You know how it is.”</p><p>“Yikes, okay,” Sonic said. “I’ll be over in a bit. Is anybody else there?” he asked.</p><p>Tails paused for a few seconds before answering. “No, they’ve... all gone home. I would have asked for Rouge since she knows how to calm me down, but I know I need to be an adult about it. Well, relatively speaking,” she said. “And I know that’s not your thing.”</p><p>“Mm.”</p><p>“Well, see you soon I guess. Oh, and please put her phone back. She needs that.”</p><p>Sonic pursed his lips as Tails hung up. He now had a date to keep, and he would be alone with Tails, having to convince her that he was Shadow, all the while giving information he didn’t have. </p><p>He looked at the notebook. <em> But I do have something, </em> he said. </p><p>Carefully, he set the phone back down and prepared for the ruse of a lifetime. He cracked his neck and tapped his toes against the floor. “Alright, I can do this,” he said, attempting to psych himself up. “I already look the part flawlessly. Now all I need is the walk,” he said. </p><p>Rouge’s apartment was high up enough that a low light made it easier to see himself in one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He looked himself up and down, trying to parse out exactly what made Shadow look like ‘Shadow’. He began with his back- confident but still slightly hunched over, achieved with the shoulders moved slightly forward. Straightened lower and middle back, but chest not too puffed out. A noticeable bend to the knee that reduced a bouncy gait into a gentle stride. Arms crooked and a little stiffer, as though resolute. </p><p>This pose was gonna be hard to keep up for more than an hour. But he knew he had to do it, otherwise who knows how Tails would take it. </p><p><em> Probably badly, </em> he thought. </p><p>He pressed his fingers into the glass and carefully let his foot glide across the floor. Smooth as silk, the jets kept his feet above the ground. He strode again, and again, slowly getting the hang of skating before finally letting go of the wall. <em> This is actually kinda fun, </em> he thought. <em> Maybe I should invest in a pair of skates for when I need a change of pace. </em></p><p>After retrieving the notebook from the coffee table, he moved towards the door and took one last look at the sleeping bat. She breezily snored- a heavy sleeper with a quiet snore- and he nodded to himself as he gently opened the door. “Goodnight, Rouge,” he quietly said, closing the door behind him. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Rain Parade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow speaks to Blue, learning that their father, now referred to as Dire Doom, is still alive but significantly weakened. He makes a deal with Blue to help her learn the truth of her past since he does not trust his father to keep his end of any deal. Meanwhile, Akshi locates Rouge and fills her in one what he knows about the mistake she's made.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow shivered as the rain settled in. They’d been stuck in that spot for an hour, and the creature wasn’t content on moving into the cold either. Shadow could see his breath hang in the air, though, which only spelled bad news for his new form. He rubbed his upper arms with his hands.</p><p>The alien sat down. “Oh no, you must be cold,” she said. </p><p>“It’s fine, I’m fine,” Shadow said. His tone was as frigid as the air around him. He knew that he wasn’t gonna fool her for long, but he had to- she was Black Arms, and she said she was a Super Soldier. Though she seemed strange for one- no drive to eat him, no drive towards the goalposts. She seemed content to just linger.</p><p>“Here,” she said. Carefully, she hunched over and spat something thick onto the ground. </p><p>Shadow grimaced- it wasn’t the grossest thing he’d encountered from the Black Arms but it was still gross nonetheless. Though he supposed that it would make sense, given how their kind were essentially insectoid in their development.</p><p>The alien then shot a spark of fire from her mouth, setting it ablaze. The size of the spit glob was somehow disproportionate to the size of the flame, which looked more like a campfire. “Tada!” she said with a grin. She put her hands on her hips and smirked with pride. “Instant fire. That should last us a few hours.”</p><p>Shadow moved a bit closer. “What’s your name?” he asked. He needed to know what kind of threat he was dealing with.</p><p>“Oh?” the alien said. “Um, it’s... Blue.”</p><p>“Blue? That’s a strange name for a Black Arms Super Soldier,” he said.</p><p>“Well, Super Soldier wasn’t exactly correct,” she said, curling up by the fire. “When I was made, father... botched me up some. Said I was “impure”, and had me locked away.” </p><p>“What makes a soldier ‘impure’, exactly?” Shadow asked. The term sounded horribly manipulative and objectifying, but he expected no less from the father who almost used him like a weapon. Even still, to hear it from someone other than himself set off immediate red flags, whereas if he’d tried to say it a year ago, he’d probably have justified it, however that could have been achieved...</p><p>“Well, when a body is killed, normally the consciousness is transferred to the next suitable form. It’s part of our reproductive cycle and helps reduce training. But… I was different when I was made. I don’t remember anything.”</p><p>Shadow paused. “Nothing at all?”</p><p>“Nothing but a strange booming sound and the color blue, and the person who I was with.” Blue held her knees. “That’s why I’m called Blue, because it's the last thing I saw.”</p><p>Shadow sighed. “Do you remember me?” he asked. After all, he was now blue, and Sonic was there during the Incident.</p><p>“No, I would have remembered you- memories of our past life carry over usually. But my memory is fragmented. Even so, I remember running fast and having ragged breath. And the one who I was with was Black Arms, just like me.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “Sounds like a bad dream.”</p><p>“It feels like a bad dream,” she said. “But that’s why I’m broken. Now I have no choice- I have to prove my worth to Father. If I prove I can fulfill what I was made for, he’ll keep his promise.”</p><p><em> No he won’t, </em> Shadow thought. <em> He absolutely won’t. </em>“And what promise is that?” he asked.</p><p>“He’ll tell me what happened in my previous life.”</p><p>“No he won’t,” Shadow said aloud. He was too late to catch himself and he pursed his lips.</p><p>“Of course he will! He said so himself!” she replied. “I mean, who else is going to know?”</p><p>Shadow swallowed hard. He knew he had to do something to help this poor girl. She’d made a fire to keep them warm, she seemed to be running away from danger rather than towards it- she was clearly frightened, alone, and starved for interaction. Shadow’s mind led him to what he knew about Omega- abandoned and told to watch over the black hedgehog in his containment back when he’d been rescued. The insatiable lust for blood had taken over Omega long before he’d woken up. But this little alien? She still didn’t know how to hate.</p><p>Hatred. Shadow clutched his chest and curled his fingers as though there were still a patch of fur there. He felt the throb of his heartbeat begin to intensify. He’d known pure hatred twice- once recently having gone Dark, and once in his conquest for revenge when <em> he’d </em>first woken up after 50 years of stasis. The latter was an embarrassing moment in his past away from which he’d moved, and the former was a new trauma he still grappled with. Neither form of hatred held a feeling less than disgusting and ugly, and it was this ugly feeling from which Shadow had the odd urge to save this little girl.</p><p>But how?</p><p>Shadow’s mind went to what had saved him so many times in the past- a faded but present memory, buried below decades of grief and pain or, in the case of a month ago, a rockslide of swift and soundless tragedy. When Amy had begged him to help save the world, her words reminded him of what his lost friend had requested of him. When he thought he’d lost Rouge, the Sapphire brought back that vision and reminded him that the selfish often do things out of desperation or pain.</p><p>The Sapphire. That was how. “What if <em> I </em>help you find your memories instead?” Shadow asked. </p><p>Blue shook her head. “Father told me he’s the only one who knows.”</p><p>Shadow had to think of some reason to avoid letting her slip away into the grasp of their biological parent. “He left you alone, but for how long?” he asked.</p><p>“Time is a blur to me, a blink, but… we passed all the way to the Orthon Galaxy and back here.” She wrung her hands and stared pensively into the flame. “A round trip at least, if not more.”</p><p>“So about half a century, makes enough sense,” Shadow said. “At least I know a time frame. But he still left you alone when he called you broken. And you’re okay with that?” he asked.</p><p>“If it means that I can become un-broken, then… yeah,” she said. There was hesitation in her eyes, but her nervous smile attempted to cover it. </p><p>Shadow wasn’t buying it, and he began to press a bit harder. “Sounds like a lousy parent,” he said.</p><p>Blue immediately jumped on the defense. “But… he created me, gave me life! I can’t just squander his efforts to make me!” she said, a bit louder. “I mean, I was made for a reason, and if that reason is to enact his revenge, then I have to obey. It’s my responsibility.”</p><p>Shadow’s lip curled down further. “No it’s not!” he said, just as loud. “That’s <em>his</em> responsibility.”</p><p>“But I’m Black Arms, I have no choice but to obey.” She sighed. “He might be diminished, but he still holds power over me. I--”</p><p>“You <em> always </em>have a choice, I mean I--” he stopped himself short and took a breath. “I had a friend, he was created in a lab. A hybrid of Black Arms heritage. He…” he tried to find the right way to phrase it. It was difficult talking about himself in the third person. “When Black Doom tried to use humankind for livestock, he dutifully obeyed, thinking that it would uncover the truth of who he was.”</p><p>Blue stared at him and listened intently.</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. He could feel his fingers shaking slightly, so he dug them into the dirt below him. “He was wrong, Black Doom… used him.”</p><p>“Are you okay?” Blue asked. “You’re getting upset. I mean, it wasn’t you.”</p><p>“I know, but…” Shadow tried to keep up the ruse. “He was hurt by it because someone who was <em> supposed to be family </em>just used him like a tool to be tossed aside.” He looked at her. “I bet that if you knew him he’d tell you the same thing. He’d tell you that you were going to be used the same way.”</p><p>“I don’t know any other Black Arms besides myself,” she said. “Other than the one from my past life, I mean. But I don’t remember his name.” She sighed. “Father told me that I needed to find the person who left our race in ruins and defeat him if I wanted to prove myself.”</p><p><em> Good luck with that, </em> Shadow thought. <em> You’re looking right at him. Or at least you would be. </em></p><p>Blue looked like she was about to cry. Shadow’s stomach turned- it wasn’t that he felt empathy at the crying, but rather he felt sick at the sight of tears because those feelings generally made him sick. </p><p>“What do I have to do to convince you to leave his side?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“There’s nothing you can do- he has control of my body,” she replied. “And I wouldn’t be able to break free. I obey because I must.”</p><p>“Is that all there is to life?” Shadow asked. “Serving a tyrant? A despot?”</p><p>Blue tried to jump to her father’s defense again, but the words failed her. “I don’t have a life otherwise. He gave me life, and he can take it away. The only reason for living is to be what I was made for.”</p><p>“What are you doing here with me, then?” he asked. “This sort of thing is part of living, too. No fighting, no war, just… talking.” He looked out into the rain. “What do you see, Blue?”</p><p>“I see… a lot of dead tree feathers,” she said. “And a white-clear mist. And there’s something cold falling from the sky.”</p><p>Shadow smiled, amused at the phrase “tree feathers” and her general misunderstanding of rain. “That’s Earth for you.”</p><p>“Is it always like this?” Blue asked.</p><p>“No, but it’s like this sometimes. Other times it’s sunny, or it’s snowy, or…” he paused. “You’ve never seen any of it, have you?”</p><p>Blue shook her head. “This is the first time I’ve been outside since I was made,” she said. “I’ve never been on Earth. Something tells me I never was.”</p><p>“So you’ve always been on the Black Comet and never set foot here?” he asked. </p><p>“I think so.” Blue scooted closer to the fire. “It’s warm, not at all like the Comet was. Or that lab, for that matter. And who was that man?”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “That was Eggman. Well, he has a name- Robotnik- but me and my friends call him ‘Eggman’. Called him it once and it just sorta stuck.” Shadow paused. <em> Maybe I am getting the hang of his cadence, </em> he thought to himself. <em> Well, now’s a good time as any to practice. She doesn’t know either of us. </em></p><p>“And this Eggman… he sounds like a big deal,” she said.</p><p>“Pssh! Please, I’ve fought bigger,” Shadow said. “He tries to take over the world like… every other week, maybe? I’ve lost count.”</p><p>Blue pondered for a moment. “Robotnik…”</p><p>“Is something up?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Huh? No, I was just thinking,” she said. She looked out to the rain again. “So you say that there’s something called “snow” too? What’s that like?”</p><p>Shadow passively smiled. He remembered asking the Professor the same things about weather on Earth alongside Maria. Both children were wide-eyed with wonder, and when he led them to the coldest room in the colony- Maria wore the thickest warm clothes she had- Gerald had taken boiling water and thrown it high into the air. It froze midair and fell in flakes. He’d told them it was like that, but everywhere, and you could roll it into a ball.</p><p>“When the rain gets <em> really </em>cold,” Shadow said, “it turns into flakes, into… fractals… and it comes down and covers the ground. The first frost is actually coming pretty soon.” He sighed. “If you’re so intent on proving yourself, you’re probably gonna miss it.”</p><p>Blue paused. “Well, he didn’t say I had a time limit, just that it needed to be done,” she said. “I could spend a little time here, right?”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “If you want to, you could live here too.” <em> I don’t know who she’d live with though, </em> he thought. <em> Syll’s access to Gerald’s memories would best qualify him for such things, but… </em> He frowned. <em> He’s not the best at dropping the analysis for warmth. </em></p><p>“I’m sorry, mister…?” Blue paused.</p><p>Shadow looked side to side. “It’s Sh--” he stopped himself. “Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog.”</p><p>“Sonic…” Blue contemplated the name. “Well, mister Sonic,” she said. “If you can help me find my memories, I’ll… consider your request.”</p><p>“I want your word,” Shadow said. “I give you my word that I’ll find a way to help you. But I want your word so I can trust you not to backstab me.” <em> Wow, that was a little harsh, it sounds foreign in his voice, </em>he thought.</p><p>Blue’s eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you trust me?” she asked.</p><p>“Because the last time we had contact with the Black Arms, my… my <em> friend </em> was really bent outta shape about it. He’s <em> still </em>bent outta shape about it,” the hedgehog replied. “Please, Blue. Do it for him.”</p><p>Blue stood still for a moment before pointing to the Emerald in his hand. “That’s our wager,” she said. “If I betray you, I forfeit that.”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “Did you steal that to give to Bla- I mean <em> Dire Doom </em>?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” Blue confirmed. “I did.”</p><p>It was almost as if she wanted to be locked into this deal. Shadow looked at her, into her eyes, and sighed. They were frightened, and every time he mentioned their parent’s name, she seemed to quiver just a little bit. “Relax, Blue- I’ll keep my end of the deal.” He held out his pinky. “May I swallow a thousand needles.”</p><p>Blue didn’t even hesitate to put her pinky- well, a pinky on her three-fingered hand- up and latch it to his. Shadow furrowed- she wasn’t able to remember her past but somehow she knew what a pinky promise was. He said nothing, but began to ponder what kind of Black Arms would have known about human culture like that. And an obscure bit of culture at that- most people forgot about the “swallowing a thousand needles” part.</p><p>Blue shook and drew her hand back before curling up into a tiny ball, much like a cat, and cuddling within a foot of the fire. “I’m sleepy,” she said.</p><p>Shadow sighed and broke off a few sticks from the roots above them. They snapped off easily, which only indicated that they were dead. The tree was possibly dead as well. Gently, he threw them into the fire, hoping to tend to it while they were stuck there. “Well, you can sleep, I’ll keep an eye out for the Doctor,” he said.</p><p>Too late, she was already asleep. </p><p>Shadow sighed, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. Kingdom Valley was a long trek from where they were- a continent away, in fact- and while running wasn’t going to be a huge issue, it would be completely foolish to believe that it wouldn’t tire him out. He still wasn’t used to this body- the feet constantly on the ground compared to the smooth glide of this boosters was uncanny. </p><p>He looked out into the storm, where a flash of lightning left an unhappy prelude to a loud rumble that shook the ground. Blue jumped up from her rest and began to shake. “No, not again, not… again…” She sheepishly looked at her campfire companion and then frowned and looked away.</p><p>Shadow grimaced. “Come over here, it’s warmer on this side,” he said, patting the ground.</p><p>Blue nervously looked at him. “I’m… scared, Sonic,” she said.</p><p>“It’s fine, it’s just thunder. It happens here on Earth, too,” he said. “When I first got my own place, it was a little frightening too- I get it.”</p><p>“Why am I scared of it?” she asked, her voice hushed.</p><p>“Beats me,” Shadow said. “Maybe it’s connected to the memories you lost?”</p><p>“M-Maybe,” she said.</p><p>Instead of curling up next to him, she clambered onto his lap and made herself comfortable. “H-hey, wait I… that’s not where I…”</p><p>She snoozed off almost immediately, and Shadow frowned. Her catlike mannerisms were strange and foreign, and as he adjusted himself to fall asleep, he began to hear her purring like one as well. <em> Great, now I can’t move… </em> he thought.</p><p>She was still shaking a little bit, as was he, and so he carefully untied the sling Amy had given him earlier. He gingerly placed his arm down and pulled the cloth over both of them. Blue’s head poked out from underneath the warm fabric, and Shadow couldn’t help but notice how she was already furrowing as though she were locked into a nightmare. <em> Poor girl... </em> he thought to himself. <em> What kind of pain did she endure that her own mind isn’t safe? </em></p><p>He leaned back and listened to the rain, hoping the white noise would put him to sleep as the fire slowly roared onwards. He knew that tomorrow he had to go back- Bastette was headed to Kingdom Valley and she was his ticket to the Sapphire. But for tonight… well, he’d have to sit tight, otherwise his haste could become his downfall.</p><p>As he slowly drifted off, he didn’t even register that Blue was talking in her sleep. Though only a few words slipped out, so he could have easily missed them even if he weren’t already reaching his dreams.</p><p>“Do it for him... “ she said. “Do it for… Shadow…”</p><hr/><p>Sirens. The sound of sirens, ringing through her ears. The alarms were tripped, the doors were already closing downwards. </p><p>Rouge smirked as she took her haul of jewels and booked it down the foyer and out into the open air of the city, where half a dozen cop cars had already arrived. <em> They’re getting better at this, </em>she thought. </p><p>She jumped up and began soaring, making her way away from them all as the bullets whizzed by. Each brassy shell barely managed to miss her as she twirled through the air like an aircraft at an airshow. Graceful, precise, cunning- these were all things she knew she was.</p><p>As she touched down a good ways away in an alley, she smirked and dropped the jewels, and they vanished. “Yet another fantastic run," she said to herself. “Can’t wait to do it for real, though. I doubt that many cars are gonna be greeting me. Though a few more would have made it interesting. I can dodge them pretty well, but that was a close call to say the least.”</p><p>She sighed. “To be honest, I’m kinda getting bored of the same ones. I mean, there are 23 of them in this town, but sometimes they fail to update their security.”</p><p>“Then why don’t you build new stuff in this place?” a voice called.</p><p>She looked up at the figure who had appeared perching on the alleyway fence. A blue parakeet, now sporting a stone necklace and a pilot’s jacket with an Emerald patch on the left arm. His familiar black boots clonked on the ground as he dropped to her level. </p><p>“Yo,” he said. “Long time, no see.”</p><p>“A-Akshi?” Rouge said, moving forward. “You… is that you or is this another part of my dream world?”</p><p>“It’s me,” he said. “No, really, I have access to this place.” He looked around. “I’m impressed- this place is huge!”</p><p>“Yeah, well…” she paused. “Wait, how did you get in here?”</p><p>His fingers passively touched his necklace. “You activated another Eye,” he said, pointing up. Rouge followed his gesture to the giant glowing Garnet in the sky. “Whatever you did, it latched onto you.”</p><p>“But… it isn’t on my body,” Rouge said. “There’s no way that--”</p><p>“It doesn’t <em> need </em>to be physically on you to ensnare you- all you had to do was touch it.” He sighed. “Look, you didn’t know, but now you do. Let’s figure out how to deactivate it.”</p><p>Rouge looked at him. “Where did you get those duds?” she asked.</p><p>“My Guardian’s been showing me a lot of the things I’ve been missing out on,” he said. “He gave me this jacket. Well, and these boots- they’re a little nicer than the ones I was wearing before.”</p><p>“And the necklace?” Rouge asked, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t look like something you’d wear at all.”</p><p>“Heh, yeah, this I… I found,” he sheepishly replied. “It <em> might </em>be a souvenir.”</p><p>Rouge traced the notch in her ear. “It wouldn’t happen to be the part that I’m missing, would it?”</p><p>Akshi chuckled. “You don’t mince words. I like it. Yeah, it is.”</p><p>Rouge held her hand out. “Well, give it back,” she said.</p><p>“You know, I would, but that’s the other thing about being frozen- if you’re chipped and the piece on your physical self goes missing, your form in here doesn’t ever recover. And if I gave it to you now, your ear still won’t be fixed in the real world. You’ll just be stuck with a necklace in here.”</p><p>“Fine then, if you’re so adamant on keeping a stupid rock, then keep it,” she said.</p><p>“Well I planned to,” he said. “When the circumstances are less dire, I think it would be nice to figure out what you’d meant when you freaked out at the fireworks show.”</p><p>“You… you saw that?” she said.</p><p>“I heard it. It was quiet, but I heard it. Unfortunately I can’t exactly talk back to you unless you fall asleep,” he said. </p><p>“Did you hear what happened after that?” she said.</p><p>“The Eye erected your dream world as you touched it,” he said. “There was a shift in the wind, I saw the skyline, and then the Garnet,” he said.</p><p>“Thank you for picking me up to speed,” Rouge said. “I don’t exactly appreciate you coming here unannounced,” she said.</p><p>“Well, I would have announced myself more clearly, but you can’t hear me out there, so that leaves me with very few options.” Akshi sighed. “We don’t have time to lose.” He began walking out of the alley and down the street, and the bat followed. “Get me up to speed so we can assess how much damage you’ve done,” he said.</p><p>“Hey, that’s no way to talk--”</p><p>“To a lady, yeah yeah, I got you,” the bird said. </p><p>Rouge huffed. “You’re still as mouthy as ever,” she said. </p><p>“And you’re still pompous and arrogant,” he replied. “What’s your point?”</p><p>“I didn’t come here to get trash talked by a bird-rock-thing, okay?” Rouge said. “Why are you being so mean to me?”</p><p>“Low hanging fruit, like I said last time,” he replied. “Anyways, the Garnet- what did it do?”</p><p>“Well, I suppose that it sort of… changed Shadow’s mind? Quite literally- two of my friends have their bodies switched,” she said.</p><p>“So not only have you ensnared yourself, but they’re also ensnared, too,” Akshi said.</p><p>“They’re stuck as well?” she asked.</p><p>Akshi nodded. “Yeah.” He looked around for a moment. “Though I haven’t seen any bleedthrough of their dreams into yours. I suppose it would make sense unless one of them went to sleep.”</p><p>The two of them felt a shadow descend on them, and Rouge turned around. Her eyes widened, and she pointed up into the sky as her stomach dropped a bit from the shock. “Um, Akshi… does that count?”</p><p>The bird looked up into the sky, where a giant floating half-sphere stood hovering above them. Down the center of the flattened side of the structure was a long barrel-like spire that jutted out, and to its right and left were two long metallic pieces of architecture that resembled a mustache. “You… didn’t build that, did you?”</p><p>Rouge shook her head. “I’m not familiar enough. If it’s that detailed, though, then I know who it belongs to.” She jumped off the ground into a gentle and bouncy hover. “Are you coming with?” she asked.</p><p>“We’re going up there? Are you sure? Who knows what kind of stuff is in there.”</p><p>“I should know,” Rouge said. “I work for the government. Last time I was up there, it was business as usual.” She swallowed. “If what you’re saying is true, then Shadow’s probably the one who pulled the ARK into here.”</p><p>Akshi nodded and whistled. A building nearby turned white and rolled itself into a cloud before scooping him up. “Let’s go, then,” he said, bursting forward.</p><p>Beyond the fence, just out of sight, a cloaked figure stood. Her bandaged fingers curled around the chain-links and her voice gentle rattled in the air like a rain stick.</p><p>"I found you. It's been so long..." she whispered. <em>"Now I can see you again."</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Be Real With Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sonic, playing the part of Shadow, must navigate a conversation with his best friend incognito. Will Tails catch on?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tails thumbed the picture of her and Sonic that had been propped up on the mantle before she’d pulled it down. Her fingers traced his outline as she tried to fathom what had happened before. He was acting strange, he did strange things. Nothing made any sense.</p><p>She pulled herself off the couch and circled around to one of the coolers. The sweat off the sides of it rolled down and dripped onto the floor, and her eyes tracked a particular tear of icy water as it slid down before soaking into the carpet. She was glad it wasn’t on a hardwood floor- she didn’t want to ruin such a nice but humble home.</p><p>She lifted the lid of the cooler and took out a lemonade, popping the tab open before moving over to the kitchen and grabbing a spare glass from the countertop. She scooted to the fridge, got some ice from the dispenser, and poured the glass full of lemonade. The slight carbonation was a little strange to her still- she was used to having fresh-squeezed lemonade from Amy’s house since she loved to try making new drink blends- but lemonade was lemonade.</p><p>A knock came to the door. It was loud and heavy, and there was a strange pattern to it. Tails set the glass down and ran over to the door. She fiddled with the deadbolt for a few seconds and then unlocked it before pulling it open. “I’m glad you came, Shadow,” she said.</p><p>The black hedgehog rubbed at his quills. He had a notepad in his hands. “Y-Yeah,” he said.</p><p>“You didn’t bring an umbrella?” she asked. “Geez, I’m sorry, you must be freezing.” She ran into the bathroom but quickly returned with a towel before handing it to Shadow. “I could have sworn you had an umbrella,” she said.</p><p>Shadow bristled a little bit. “I… I was at Rouge’s,” he said.</p><p>Tails nodded. “Well, at least you don’t get sick from being out in the cold,” she said. “I guess being in the rain is inconsequential, isn’t it?”</p><p>The black hedgehog nodded. “Cold rain isn’t too different from cold showers,” he said.</p><p>Tails smiled halfheartedly. “I’m sorry I called you so late, or if I called you away from something important,” she said. Her eyes were apologetically downcast. “I heard that Rouge wasn’t in a good mood from Bastette. She wouldn’t tell me why, but it isn’t my business.”</p><p>The corners of Shadow’s lip tried their hardest not to twitch upwards. “It’s alright, Tails. She went to bed alright, and I expect that she’ll be asleep for at least a few hours.”</p><p>“She’s been strange lately, hasn’t she?” the fox asked. </p><p>“A little,” Shadow replied. “She’s been very… bent out of shape about something. I don’t know what to tell her. I mean, she <em> kissed </em>me.”</p><p>Tails’ eyes were wide. “She did <em>not</em> do that. Tell me she didn’t seriously do that.”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “She did,” he said.</p><p>The fox’s cheeks puffed a bit and she put her hands on her hips. “I told her that it wasn’t a good idea. You’ve been having episodes and you clearly aren’t ready. That’s exactly what I said, and she--”</p><p>“Tails, relax, please,” Shadow said. “I’m… fine.”</p><p>The fox paused. “I fixed you a drink,” she said, pointing at the lemonade. “I figured that you needed it, and I know you’re not supposed to be having caffeine because of your recent headaches.”</p><p>“Kind as ever,” Shadow said, carefully walking into the kitchen. “Why did you call me here?” he asked. His fingers were fidgeting before he touched the smooth glass of the cup. He left the notepad on the counter.</p><p>Tails momentarily looked at the open page of the notebook but turned back to her guest. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened, things didn’t go as I wanted.” She wrung her hands. “You told me that he’d be alright with it.”</p><p>“He wasn’t?” Shadow said. He visibly swallowed. “That’s a surprise, even for me.”</p><p>Tails moved over to the couch, and Shadow followed. She sat down on one side of the couch, and the hedgehog followed by setting himself on the middle cushion. Tails nodded to herself as she smoothed out her tan skirt. “So when he came back, he just kinda…” she pursed her lips. “Sat there.”</p><p>“Oh?” Shadow asked. “Yeah, that is strange.”</p><p>Tails sighed. “Shadow, I’m scared that he doesn’t like me anymore.”</p><p>Shadow’s eyes widened a little bit but he had to bite down on his lip as he carefully shuffled slightly closer to the fox. “What makes you say that?”</p><p>“I mean you weren’t there, but when he came back he was acting like nothing happened,” she said. Her hand-wringing was getting more intense. “He acted like he wasn’t just yelling at Amy, like he never left, like he--”</p><p>“Maybe he’s just…” Shadow paused, visibly searching for the right word. “Maybe he’s just afraid to hurt you. He never seemed like the kind of person to judge, and he wanted your evening to be special and not ruined by something he could have said.”</p><p>Tails sniffled. “Do you think he hates me?”</p><p>“Hates you?” Shadow asked. He frowned. “I don’t think he has it in him to hate you.”</p><p>“But… look at me! He’s known me as a boy for years now. <em> Years. </em>” Tails’ eyes began to well up, and she felt her breathing getting shallow as she held back a sob. “I mean, he’s never liked girls. He wasn’t interested in Amy when they met, and he still isn’t interested in her.” </p><p>Shadow held the drink out to her. “You need it more than me,” he said.</p><p>Tails gently took the drink. “T-Thanks, Shadow,” she said.</p><p>Shadow leaned back on the couch. “I don’t know what your friend is like, at least not the same way you do, but I don’t think that Sonic would do something like that. I mean, when I tried to destroy the planet, he was very quick to accept help when I switched teams.” He paused. “I’ve never really seen anybody who lacked that much skepticism.”</p><p>“Maybe, I mean, he definitely has good will,” she said. “But why did he run?”</p><p>Shadow paused. “I don’t really know. Maybe he was taken off guard. This was a party, right?” he said.</p><p>“Bastette told me not to announce it in front of everybody else because it was manipulative,” Tails said. “But I was afraid that if I went alone I would have gotten worse. I had to do it that way because I was so afraid of being left alone.” She sniffled, and Shadow casually reached for the tissues situated on the coffee table. “I didn’t want to be left alone, I already got made fun of when I was super little, and I didn’t want to--”</p><p>“Relax, Tails,” Shadow said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think he would have done anything that brash either.”</p><p>“Then why would he leave?” she asked. </p><p>“How many people were you going to tell after you told him?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, he was the last one, because he was the most important person and the one person in the world I didn’t want to leave.” The tears began rolling down her eyes. “He was the one I was most scared of losing, and now he’s gone missing and I’ll never get to say I’m sorry. That I’m sorry for breaking my promise to him, that I’m sorry for luring him into a group with peers before telling him, for telling everybody else before I told him. That I’m sorry because I didn’t want him to turn me away because I’m a girl and so I came out to everybody else first. That I’m sorry for being stupid and selfish.”</p><p>Shadow breathed in, and then out. “When the ARK was crashing, your friend… Amy…” he paused again, watching pensively as Tails took a heavy drink of lemonade. “Amy told me that people do selfish things because they’re angry, or they’re in pain, or they’re desperate.”</p><p>“Do… do you think I’m desperate?” Tails asked. “Do you think he thinks I’m desperate?”</p><p>“I think… I think he thinks you're his best friend, and that you’re allowed to hang around a friend if you care about them. Do you… care about him?”</p><p>“Of course I do, what kind of little sis am I if--”</p><p>Shadow leaned forward and grabbed Tails, who dropped the lemonade onto the floor and broke the glass. His arms locked around her small frame and his fingers dug slightly into her fur. He shook a bit, and the sound of sniffles punctuated the cold evening air. “It isn’t because you’re a girl, Tails.”</p><p>“Shadow?” Tails asked. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“Of course I’m okay, buddy, of course I am,” Shadow whispered.</p><p>Tails’ eyes widened, and she pushed him back enough that she was staring him in the face. Shadow’s eyes were red and puffy, and his gaze constantly broke from the fox’s. “No… no way…”</p><p>Shadow let another round of tears fall. “I thought you didn’t care anymore, I thought that you didn’t tell me because there was…” He was still shaking. “That there was something wrong with me. That I couldn’t be trusted because I wasn’t doing something right.”</p><p>“Sonic?” Tails asked. “What… what happened to you?” </p><p>Sonic wiped his eyes. “S-Sorry, pal, I… another Eye was found and…” He was still having trouble through the sniffles. “You cut me really deep, Tails. You told me a month ago that you wouldn’t hide things from me and you…”</p><p>Tails glanced around before resolutely hugging her friend. “Sonic, I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I didn’t want you to leave and I was so scared that you’d turn around and hate me. You’re the last person in the world I want to hate me- you’re my family.”</p><p>“You’re my family too, Tails,” Sonic replied. “I’m… I’m sorry I left without telling you why. I was so upset, I just needed to be mad for awhile. I was gonna come back and apologize, but when ‘Tette and I were on the road, I fell down a hill, and next thing I know, I’m waking up in Rouge’s apartment like... this!” He gestured to himself.</p><p>“I’ll admit, you really nailed the walk,” Tails said, still holding onto her friend. “You had me fooled. But there were signs that make sense now that I know what’s really going on.” She paused and pulled away from the embrace. “Yeah, Shadow doesn’t say “Yikes”, doesn’t give up his drink so easily, always gets complaints from Rouge about taking all the hot water, and never would <em>think</em> of sitting any closer on the couch than the furthest spot, especially if it’s just him and someone else.” Tails watched Sonic shift uncomfortably in his spot as she commented. “Also, you can’t pull off Chaos Control as well as Shadow can, so... if you’re here, then that means that Shadow was the one being so disinterested at the party.”</p><p>“And that didn’t tip you off?” Sonic said. “Seriously, do you even know me?”</p><p>“Hey, I was upset at the time, too!” Tails replied. A full smile had broken across her face for the first time all night. “People are less observant when they’re emotional. And I had no idea another Eye had been spotted. I thought we were done with those things!”</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” Sonic said. His posture shifted as he finally had a chance to relax. “I’m just giving your crap. It’s what brothers-- sorry, <em> siblings </em>-- it’s what siblings would do.”</p><p>Tails gave him a playful punch. “I know. Those mannerisms don’t suit Shadow at all, now that I’m looking at you more closely.” </p><p>Sonic frowned. “I feel gross like this. It’s like everything in my body is wrong.”</p><p>“Heh, now you’re starting to get the picture,” Tails said. “Now imagine that was <em> always </em> your body.”</p><p>“Is this seriously what it’s like? How do you manage?” Sonic asked. “I mean, it feels wrong, it <em> is </em>wrong.”</p><p>“You’re right, it <em> is </em>wrong. At least, it was wrong until I started coming out,” she said. “I never wanted to feel wrong again.”</p><p>Sonic hugged her again. “Then I’ll help you feel right, okay? Whatever it takes, because you’re my little sis.”</p><p>Tails chuckled. “And you’re my big bro.”</p><p>“Hey, uh Tails?” he asked. </p><p>“Yeah?” she replied.</p><p>“I’m sorry ahead of time if I slip up- I just learned about this a few hours ago.”</p><p>“It’s okay, you’ve adjusted to it faster than Shadow did,” she said.</p><p>“Really?” Sonic said. His eyes glimmered with hope.</p><p>“No, not really, but you’re still doing great for how recent the announcement was,” she said. “Oh, what’s that?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Sonic asked.</p><p>“The notepad, why’d you bring it?” she said.</p><p>“Oh, right!” He stood up and shakily skated over to the counter before returning. “I heard something really strange, it was like a voice calling out to me. Whatever I could remember was what I wrote down.” He rubbed at his head. “I can still feel the headache.”</p><p>“Hmmm…” Tails looked over the notes. “I still can’t get over how you write your g’s…” She continued scanning the page. She read words like <em> Blue </em> and <em> Black Doom </em> and as much of the threat that Sonic had gathered, and her fingers paused over it all. “So he’s back.”</p><p>“Black Doom has decided to show himself again,” Sonic said. “And now <em> I’m </em>having weird voices in my head. I don’t know why.”</p><p>“Maybe this has something to do with the Black Arms creature that crashed through the window.” The fox pointed to the jagged hole in the front window. </p><p>“Man, my house is just a magnet for damage, isn’t it?” he said, bummed out by the hole. </p><p>“You’re a magnet for danger. I’m surprised this place hasn’t fallen apart around you,” she said.</p><p>“Just because it looks nice, doesn’t mean it <em> is </em>nice. The upper left burner on the stove stopped working a while back.” Sonic scratched at his wrists, where the inhibitors were beginning to really become noticeable.</p><p>Tails pulled out a pen and began scribbling notes down. “Well, we can talk about repairs <em> after </em> we get you back to your old self,” she said. “We’re gonna have to find Shadow first, though. He ran off into the woods, so he could be anywhere by now. And with a Chaos Emerald, no less…”</p><p>Sonic sighed. “You still seem a little bit shaken by this whole mess,” he said.</p><p>“Well, if you’d told me this was going to happen I wouldn’t have believed it. I mean, scientifically speaking it shouldn’t be possible, but with the Eye…” she continued writing even faster than before. “Are you feeling okay? I mean, aside from the whole “not being you” thing? Any weird feelings?”</p><p>“I feel warm almost all the time, even in the rain. I didn’t feel any different being outside to being in here,” he said.</p><p>“Interesting,” she said.</p><p>“Tails, would you stop taking notes for a second? I’m… I didn’t really have much time to process how freaked out I should be at this.” </p><p>Tails stopped and put the pen down. “Ever wonder how your tongue is in your mouth? You’re blinking and breathing? You’re itching somewhere?”</p><p>“What?” Sonic asked. His face melted from confusion to slight irritation. “Oh, gee. Thank you for reminding me of all the things I don’t have to think about.”</p><p>“Gets your mind off of freakier things though, right?” she said.</p><p>Sonic stopped. “Yeah, yeah actually… it kinda does.”</p><p>Tails grinned. “Same trick works for him too. He even hates being reminded.”</p><p>“How’d you discover it?” Sonic asked.</p><p>“I’ve been passing the time at Rouge’s place since I came back so I could focus on work on Jolt’s legs, and one night I found him on the couch in the middle of the night after he’d come over. He was  wide-eyed and panicked, almost a complete 180 from what you would expect of someone that stoic.” She paused and slowly pulled the notebook back up. “I told him that his episodes were getting worse, but either he didn’t listen because I’m a kid or because he doesn’t want to admit I’m right. Either way, he’s probably still having them. And as of recent, he probably had another full-on panic attack.”</p><p>“Yeah, you told me he was having those,” Sonic said. “I never realized how bad last month must’ve messed him up.”</p><p>“Well, he’s not you, that’s for sure,” Tails said.</p><p>“He is right now,” Sonic replied, trying his best to make the situation a little less weird.</p><p>Tails grinned. “Well, you’re not gonna find it that funny when you have to go to his appointment tomorrow,” Tails said. “He has to get blood drawn.”</p><p>“That’s not too hard to handle, I can take it like a champ,” the hedgehog replied with a smirk. “I’ve donated before, this shouldn’t be any different.”</p><p>“When have you ever donated?” Tails asked. “I’ve never seen you go.”</p><p>“These past few weeks I’ve been donating platelets, it just seemed like a fun new experience,” he said. “The needle isn’t that bad, it’s the anticipation that kills ya.”</p><p>“Try telling Shadow that after you go in his place tomorrow,” Tails replied. “Because you’re gonna have to play the part again unless you want things getting weird. Especially since I predict he’ll be discussing the panic attack he had, too.”</p><p>Sonic frowned, a look that definitely appeared more grim than intended on Shadow’s face. “He didn’t get help?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, hopefully he’s getting help from Syll tomorrow,” she said. She stood up and walked over to the cooler before digging her hand through the ice. “Sonic, I’m still wondering something, though.”</p><p>“Yeah, what’s that?” he asked. He grinned as Tails tossed him a soda and he quickly popped it open. </p><p>“If you are okay with me being a girl, how come you don’t like Amy?” she asked.</p><p>He paused. “It isn’t that I don’t like her. She’s a great friend, but… she’s <em> too </em> Amy for me.”</p><p>“What does that even mean?”</p><p>The sentiment he struggled with earlier became clearer. “Tails, I can’t be with Amy because if she put all of her attention on me, she wouldn’t be able to help others. It’s one of her best qualities and it would be selfish of me to take that away from other people.” He paused. “She wouldn’t have been about to help you as much as she has.”</p><p>“That’s probably the most mature thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she said.</p><p>“Yeah, must be from pretending to be Shadow for a few hours,” he replied. “Ugh, I hate having to be so serious all the time now! Those stuffy words keep popping up more than they should.”</p><p>“Vocabulary isn’t biological, but sure, okay,” Tails said. “So you wrote something here about a Hivemind. I take it that’s how Doom reached out to you.” </p><p>“Yeah, and I don’t think he’s here to make Shadow reconsider anymore.”</p><p>“I wouldn't have expected him to want that- Shadow <em> did </em>try to kill him, after all.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, the rest of us fought off their forces,” Sonic said. “If he’s gunning for Shadow, we’re next on the chopping block.”</p><p>“Yep,” she said matter-of-factly. “What, are you afraid of the danger?” </p><p>Sonic knew that playful chide anywhere. “Hardly.” He got up and headed towards the door.</p><p>“Wait, where are you going?” Tails asked, setting down the notebook. She jumped off the couch and ran towards her friend. “What about these messages?”</p><p>Sonic stood outside in the grass and looked carefully at the sky. “If we’re gonna be fighting, I can’t just sit on the sidelines because I don’t know how this body works. I wonder if…”</p><p>Tails was about to speak when she saw him disappear in a flash. A bit panicked, she began looking around before she heard a shout from the sky. She swallowed and looked up, noticing the flashing streak of red flailing through the air. </p><p>Carefully, she unbuttoned her skirt to reveal a pair of exercise shorts beneath. As she cast it aside, she kicked off the ground and began flying up towards her friend, breaking his fall with a gentle catch of his middle.</p><p>“Tails!” Sonic said. “That was… so much fun!”</p><p>“You gave me a heart attack!” Tails said. “Is now the best time to be playing with his powers like that?” she asked. “You could do some serious damage!”</p><p>“Normally Chaos Control is messy for me, but like this…” he paused. “Well, it’s still a little dizzy, but it feels clean, like…” he paused and tried to come up with an apt description. </p><p>“Like a breath of fresh air?” she finished.</p><p>“Like that after chewing mint gum, maybe?” Sonic added. “Whatever it is, it’s no wonder how naturally it comes to him.” He caught himself a bit too late. “Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do there. It’ll be a great learning experience.”</p><p>Tails smiled. “At least you’re looking on the bright side. I wonder how Shadow’s holding up, wherever he is…”</p><p>Sonic grinned. “You wanna do some improv training? You know, to loosen up?”</p><p>Tails nodded and pushed up her sleeves, where a set of bracelets hung around her wrists. She kicked off her sandals and flicked the Straightwinds open and around her feet. “Let’s start with those shoes. You gotta learn how to maneuver if you wanna stay fast.” She reached over and slugged him in the arm. “Catch me if you can!” she shouted, dashing off. “You’re it!”</p><p>Sonic glided forward, still wobbly but with a little more resolve. She was still the same old Tails. The hedgehog realized that the person he knew never left- she was just waiting patiently to be real with him. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Nine of Swords</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was sterile. Warm, but sterile. His bedroom always was. It was the only way they could ensure her protection from illness. His life was always built around her from up here, but he knew no other life, so he never minded it. At least, not until he started waking up here over and over, an endless waltz that always led to the same unhappy refrain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pulled open his covers and paused. He was still blue, a massive departure from his normal deep black but no doubt the influence of the Eye. He swallowed the bile in his throat and continued through the motions, starting with the daily routine of hygiene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The basin in his wide room sat in the corner next to the rest of the closed off bathroom space, and he slowly pulled his toothbrush from the sterilized container perched against the back of it. He carefully pulled the toothpaste dispenser from the cabinet above and sternly squeezed a pea-sized drop onto the bristles before shoving it into his mouth and brushing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a moment to stare at himself in the mirror. Indeed he was stil Sonic, meaning that not even his dreams would allow him to rest easy. He carefully examined the dental structure of his rival and sighed. No weak spots to be seen, not even cavities, though the yellowing left him iching to meticulously scrub harder than before. Though knowing how hard he could go, he knew it wasn’t wise to put his gums through that misery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something was off about Sonic’s visage though, and Shadow had trouble pinpointing it until he squinted a bit. It wasn’t anything to do directly with spine color or even the teeth. Something was just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the look. But then, as Shadow locked eyes with himself, it became clear- his eyes were now the bright red they’d been before, and it looked like the inhibitors were loosely but surely hanging from his wrists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow breathed a sigh of relief, content that at least one or two of his features had returned. Gratitude that he’d been granted even a single comfort in this recurring nightmare he had was amplified into a quiet sort of joy. Now if only he could get the rest of him back, he could feel safer here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spat into the basin and rinsed the water down before preparing himself for the shower next to him. He thought about the soap to use for the moment- the aromatherapy blends he’d been given to reduce his stress levels always seemed to do the trick. He knew it ultimately didn’t matter which he chose, because the same thing would happen each and every time he had this dream. Eucalyptus and spearmint it was, then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, hissing as the heat kissed his skin with its fiery touch. He was used to the heat, he could handle it, and the lava spurt that preluded the gentle warmth had been a part of that day, and he remembered it vividly. He ran his bare fingers through his quills and sighed as the steam rose around him before pouring a quarter of the bottle of the bath soap into the drain and against the floor. The sharp and crisp aroma wafted to his nose and he took further comfort that he could remember the smell as clear as day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same dream, same routine, repeated again and again,” he said. He pulled up his peach arm and the inhibitor slid down to his elbow as he caught a glance at the number branded in black on his left wrist: 554. He grimaced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>554 times he’d brushed his teeth. 554 times he’d showered. He was painfully aware of each time as of late, down to each moment the clock ticked. He could hear it even through the glass door of the bathing area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“3,2,1…” Shadow muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like clockwork, the door slid open to his room. “Shadow?” the voice called. “Shadow, it’s me, are you awake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Maria, I’m awake,” he said. His voice was more exhausted than any of the previous iterations of this conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria didn’t even seem to notice that. She never did. “I wanted to give you a cupcake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you take it from the kitchen? You know the Professor gets disappointed,” Shadow replied, still only half-invested. The same script, over and over, every time he succeeded in having a dream. And that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>when he had them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I made these myself. It’s angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finished his shower and hurriedly dried off before putting his attire back on. “Maria, I don’t understand. What’s going on today?” he asked. He already knew the answer, but the script pushed forward anyway. Plus, it wasn’t as if she would respond any differently- she wasn’t real, this place wasn’t real, even the cupcake, as delicious as it always was, wasn’t real. Why bother trying to change the pleasant part of the day knowing it was all the good he had from that day?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria grinned as he bit down on the cupcake. “Grandpa brought me a new cake mix. It’s less processed and it’s full of extra nutrients. I’m gonna need it today,” she said, crouching down to his eye level. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smiled. “Oh, I see now. You’re getting your transfusion today.” He paused. “And you want me to come with you because you’re scared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl nodded. “It’s still another hour before I have to do that though. We can walk around until we have to be back.” She pulled up the sleeve on her blouse and checked her inner left wrist. “Yeah, it says “9:30” and we have to be back by 10:30, so that’s an hour. “How are you holding up?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m still sleepy,” Shadow replied, going off script just to be honest. “I… yesterday was really exhausting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s no good!” she said. “Are you sick? I woke up from a nightmare with a small fever so you must be--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No Maria, I don’t get…” he paused. That wasn’t how she normally responded. That day, he’d said “I rested alright”, and she would have responded that she was glad to hear it. He’d gone off script before and she’d still answer as if he hadn’t. He swallowed, wondering if it was another big shift in the dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d had plenty in the past- the colors of the room had shifted to reflect his current bedroom, the toothbrush was sage green instead of the traffic-cone orange it had been before. Even when he was locked up and asleep in stasis for decades, the cold had affected the temperature of the water in the shower. This was more than a little disturbing- Maria herself was now being affected by the dreams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swallowed. “Do you wanna go to the observation deck?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! Let’s go!” She grabbed his arm and ran down the hallway, half-dragging him with how excited she was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow was uneasy at that change in routine. He’d gotten so used to hearing the same things over and over that he’d memorized even the most obscure of details. He watched the walls for any breaks in the pattern, but nothing came. The same number sequence, over and over again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like an eternity but he already knew that time never functioned properly in here. An hour could take a day or take a matter of minutes. Shadow always knew it was the latter and not the former, however.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tugged on Maria and asked her to slow down, another thing she did off script. His nervousness racked up as he wondered how he was capable of this level of control. “Maria, I need to go slower, I’m still tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she said. “Can I tell you about my dream now then?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. He already knew what she was going to say, but he didn’t have the heart to repeat it back to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw dark and jagged walls, the color of oil slick, the sounds of splashing over a bright but poisonous lake, and I felt the pull of someone from behind me but they never spoke. They just looked like an imposing figure lingering behind me. I don’t know what he was waiting for but he was scary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I wish I could have been there to help you,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I went back to sleep soon after,” she said. Her eyes were downcast. “I had some help, but I went back to sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow grimaced. He knew that the nurses had to have administered something strong to get her back to bed. The dreams had been a lot stronger lately, and Gerald was still looking for a solution while he patched things over with tranquilizers. And the visions were something that Shadow now distinctly remembered as being identical to the Black Comet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flicker, a flash of purple and neon, and as his eyes locked with the display to his right, he spotted the Black Comet’s interior before it flickered away with a static-sounding glitch. His stomach swirled at the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it image, as he wasn’t sure exactly how or why it was here. He racked his brain for reasons, but none came aside from the obvious- the past he’d endured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, are you okay?” Maria asked. Another off-script question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, I’m just really… nevermind, it’s nothing,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two of them reached the observation deck, his senses were hit with a smell that didn’t belong, a smell that only stood as a remnant of when he’d tried to destroy this place and the blue marble he could see beneath his feet through the glass panel. The metallic singe that burned through his nostrils and left his eyes watering as he recalled Black Doom’s forces attempting to break apart this sacred haven. The ethereal afterglow that coated the inside of his throat- the smell of metal and gun plasma.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, I think I see something!” she said, letting go of his hand and running to the rail. “Look, look! The clouds are spinning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Shadow was once ignorant of such things, he would have smiled in awe and wonder at a hurricane passing through the south of the United Federation. Knowing what he knew now, he couldn’t help but furrow. Maria didn’t know that such a beautiful thing could do so much damage. He didn’t blame her- no child who was born here would understand. Shadow didn’t understand until decades later. And yet, the childlike whimsy was unsettling as Shadow came to rest at the window as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, what do you think it’s like on Earth?” she asked. Finally, an on-script question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he said, trying to get back to the comfort of the words he’d said time and time again. “There’s ‘snow’ and ‘rain’ and ‘autumn’ but I don’t really know what any of that means.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria smiled sweetly. “Well, neither do I. When we finally get to go down there, we’ll get to see all those things, won’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded, but his eyes were a bit grim. He knew what happened today, he knew what was to come the moment her appointment was over. “Yes, I suppose so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl sighed. “What do you think grandpa will do once he makes me better? Do you think the people down there will be as happy as I’ll be soon?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded, trying to get back on track. “The professor said his life's work was dedicated to all of those who live down there. He once told me that the reason for his existence was making people happy through the power of science.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow…” Maria said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though he’d had this talk over and over, Shadow still felt the tickle in his nose as he spoke the words. “Maria... I just don't know anything anymore... I often wonder why I was created; what my purpose is for being here. Maybe if I go down there, I... I will find the answers... maybe…” he said. “I mean, there has to be a reason aside from the cure, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria put a hand on his shoulder. “I read it in a book somewhere that when the hero enters a whole new world, it’s like starting with a fresh plate,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Don’t you mean ‘slate’?” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, silly, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>plate,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she said. “Because you get to decide all the flavors of your life that’ll make you the most happy.” She paused. “I’ve never had chicken before, I think I’d like to try it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow chuckled. Food was often both a blessing when given and when giving, wasn’t it? Shadow admitted his taste in food was bland, but being raised in an environment where germs could spell trouble, it was no surprise that being fed nutrient-rich bland space food was the best way to avoid Maria suffering any more. Shadow couldn’t get any illnesses, but bodies rejected certain foods just by the way they were built.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’d like to try it too,” he said. He paused, reminding himself not to get caught up in the script too easily- the more he could remove himself from what was about to transpire, the less sweat would be covering him when he woke. “Maria…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A timer went off on her watch, and she beamed. “Alright! It’s time for me to be brave, Shadow. Are you coming?” she asked. For a moment, there was a noticeable pause before she added. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow became unsettled again. Of course he had to- he had come with her that day for her transfusion. There was no way he wasn’t going to be going with her, right? Her words had gone off script again, almost as if she’d known his thoughts for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go with you,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, wait!” she said, circling around the room and punching in a few numbers. “I forgot- grandpa got me this from one of the men two weeks ago. It’s really special. It’s from a tree!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled out a maple leaf encased in a glass slide and frame. “Look! It turned red! I didn’t even know they did that! Grandpa said that during three or four months every year they do that, and sometimes whole trees turn red before they all fall off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A tree feather?” Shadow said. The word exited his mouth as smoothly as any line in this looping vision. But there was a bitter taste as he registered it in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s called a ‘leaf’, Shadow!” she said. “I got it for your room! It looks so cold and colourless in there, and I thought having a good color like red would liven the place up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow gently took the picture. “I like it. Thank you,” he quietly said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria sighed. “We should go to the lab for the transfusion. I can feel my body going through withdrawal,” she said. “Best not keep him waiting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, Maria?” Shadow asked. “Could you… could you maybe let me put this in my room first? I don’t want to misplace it.” Shadow paused. “It would be bad if it got broken or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria, not even skipping a beat, agreed. “Okay. Your room is on the way so that won’t be a problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed as though time had sped forward, because in a matter of moments, Shadow was asking her to turn around as he entered his room. He didn’t want her to see what he’d been doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beneath a panel on the floor he’d nestled many of the gifts she’d given him. He’d held onto them thinking that he and her could have a day when she wasn’t busy to rearrange his room. But knowing what he knew, he’d never even get to eat the unopened package of chocolate that was tucked between two cans of lemonade.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder if it’s still hidden in there, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As Rouge and Akshi made their way through the building, passing countless strange visages in white lab coats, the latter began to feel uneasy. It wasn’t the surroundings and it wasn’t the strange technology- he’d never seen any of it for sure but he held no fear there. He could sense it was something else, and he wasn’t sure where to place his finger to identify the source of the frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge frowned. “Akshi, you’ve been acting strange since we broke in here,” she said. “Is something wrong?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s just a little cold in here,” he said. He had to lie, he just had to. Anything to avert suspicion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Deception isn’t a flattering color, Akshi,” she replied. “Your heartbeat got more intense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can hear that?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hear a lot of things. One time an investigation agency sent their finest assassin and I knew he was there despite his impressive camouflage,” she said. “I can hear breathing further down, we have to be close to the source.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The parakeet nodded sternly and continued down the winding corridors. The spectre of fear nagged at the nape of his neck and hounded relentlessly as he tried to parse out why he was feeling this way. There was no way he was getting spooked by his surroundings- he’d seen scarier, he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>been through </span>
  </em>
  <span>scarier. But this wasn’t the sort of unease one would get staring at a horror movie monster, but rather the feeling of dread that crept over someone staring down a dimly-lit and empty concrete and rebar corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he picked up his pace, he caught sight of a green flash to his left and stopped dead in his tracks. His head snapped to attention at the empty room beside him for a moment, and his trembling grew more intense. He swore he would vomit at how anxious he was becoming. Nothing should have been able to frighten him- he was the head of the Angel Clan- and yet whatever was lurking in here with them clearly was a fright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he saw it- down the hall in front of the both of them was a young parakeet standing there, her hands clasped together in joy as she ran towards them. She shouted at the top of her lungs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge furrowed her brow. “Akshi, who is that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi was frozen in shock as the girl approached and tackled him to the ground. “I-I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, Octave?” the girl asked. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H-how…” He pushed her off of him, stood up and held his hand forward. A strange aura lit up around his digits and he shook as he stared her down. “Whatever you’ve done to her, let her go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The parakeet girl pulled herself off the floor. “Octave, I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s me, your sis--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi grabbed her arm and pinned her to the wall. “Liar!” he shouted. “My sister was destroyed along with the rest of the Eight. Who the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you think you are parading her in front of me like this, Luneria?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” the girl said. “I’m not... “ The only nervousness to her eyes came from the glowing hand mere inches from her face. She swallowed hard. “Fine, Octave, don’t believe me. I finally found you and you…” She bit down on her lip. “Chaos Control!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a blink she disappeared, and Akshi was left staring wide-eyed at the empty wall. He was breathing so heavily it seemed as though he were about to hyperventilate. Rouge reached a hand out but Akshi stood up quickly and moved away from her fingers. He was trembling, and he hoped and prayed that Rouge didn’t catch the tears forming along his lower eyelid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Rouge asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Who </span>
  </em>
  <span>was that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s gotta be some sort of trick, there’s no way that Luneria wouldn’t use this to impede me,” he breathed. He clutched his chest and stared past Rouge as he turned to face her. “She can’t be real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who was that supposed to be, if she isn’t real?” Rouge asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi looked away. “Not now, Rouge,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akshi, I’m worried about--”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Not now!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he shouted. His yell managed to shake the Dreamscape around them, and Rouge put her hand on the wall to steady herself. “I can’t do that right now, I can’t do anything right now, I…” He clutched his chest, feeling his heart get faster and faster as it failed over and over again to properly thump. He could feel the rush of a river trying to force itself through a floodgate during a monsoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snapped from his panic attack as the sirens rang around them and plunged the ARK into a deep crimson. Rouge nodded. “We need to get to the observation deck,” she said. “Now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi nodded and the two took off. Rouge seemed to know exactly why they needed to go there, and her memory seemed to have at least hung onto the details of how to get to that particular room. He silently followed, barely able to keep up with her frantic running in his contemplative haze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge slid the doors open to the observation deck and frowned, watching as Maria and Shadow- the latter was still swapped- turned to face what they had thought were G.U.N. soldiers. Shadow seemed to already know what was going on, but as he caught sight of Rouge his face turned from acceptance to a strange sort of panic. “Rouge? And who is that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi was about to speak when the blonde girl suddenly broke from her panic into a very confused and worried look. She stared at Shadow for a moment and opened her mouth to speak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you’re not…” she paused and looked down at herself. “Wait, this isn’t… no, this can’t be right, I…” She clutched her head, grabbing at the base of her blond hair. “I don’t understand, how many times have I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled her left sleeve down and looked in horror. Shadow turned and looked as well, and his heart stopped as he realized that the watch was no longer there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, there was only a number- 18,047.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria burst into dust and disappeared, and almost immediately after, so did Shadow, and Rouge and Akshi watched the ARK disappear from around them and leave them alone in the Dreamscape again. Rouge still watched as Akshi trembled under the weight of his own fear, and gripped his wrist even tighter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can talk over dinner,” she said.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Runaway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When Blue returns to her father, Dire Doom, she finds that his motives are less noble and his price for her past is far more steep than he promised.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to GaySarahK for naming this chapter. I find it's absolutely fitting and I like it a lot.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maria was still alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he realized this fact, he felt the world of the woken return to him. He felt the heat of the fire still going, and all around him the sounds of the rain dying down filled his head with static. Rouge had been there, and a strange bird, and Maria became confused about her surroundings. And that number- she’d been dreaming almost every night since she was shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thoughts stung Shadow in the chest as he stifled his voice. Blue was still asleep on his lap, but was groggily waking up. He steadied his breath and carefully closed his eyes so as to see where she went when she woke. Sure enough, she finally woke up, but she woke up screaming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow swallowed as he waited with bated breath for her next move. It was absolutely vital that she did not catch him, so Shadow went far enough as to roll over as though he were asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue carefully made her way over to the Emerald and reached out with her tiny hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow gripped her wrist. “Are you serious?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I… I’m sorry!” she said. “I… I have to take it to him. He’ll--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t wanna hear your excuses, Blue,” Shadow said, trying not to explode from the break in his trust. “You said you’d try to stay away from him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said I’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>consider </span>
  </em>
  <span>it,” she replied. “Besides, the word of a Terrestrial such as yourself isn’t worth much to our kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why did you trust me not to kill you in your sleep? Why did you cuddle?” he asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was cold,” she said. “Heat is sparing here. We don’t have a place to go that’s warm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow paused. “I can think of a place, but there are people there. They saw you, but I’m not sure if they can trust you.” He was still reeling at the revelation that his friend might be alive. But where could she be? The only place he could have fathomed was the ARK. She’d probably been up there for so long, and she was probably scared. He looked out of the hiding place into the sky, which had finally cleared up to a starry night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic, are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused. “It was just a bad dream.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry to hear that, are you sick?” Blue asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stopped himself and held a hand to his forehead. “Huh, I seem to be a bit warmer than usual.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue pursed her lips. “Father is going to be furious if I don’t return.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come with me for now, you need someone to protect you if The Doc-- if </span>
  <em>
    <span>Eggman </span>
  </em>
  <span>comes back.” He grabbed her around the waist and slung her over his shoulder. “We can’t stay here if that’s the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue kicked a bit. “This position is a bit undignified, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m not going to carry you in my arms, that’s for sure,” Shadow replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s cold,” Blue said. “You’re willing to carry me like a sack of whatever over your shoulder?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow bounced a bit and jostled her as he stood. “Yep,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow!” a voice called. “Where are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hedgehog recognized that voice as Sonic’s friend. “Tails?” he called back. His breath was still ragged from having woken up. “Tails, hang on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stood up and looked out into the world. It was still late in the night, perhaps nearly 3 AM, and the stars were bathed in a deep but gentle gray-violet. It reminded the hedgehog of his doctor’s spines, only more perplexed and distant in their tone. Indeed, so close, yet so far away. The gradient didn’t seem to show any signs of fading from the bottom. Rather, it came from the top and to the left side- they were facing approximately Due East, possibly East-Southeast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He relayed this to Tails, who dutifully followed the directions as she had been West of the burrow before. It was only a matter of seconds before her tufted head poked over the rim of the cave. “Ah, there you are,” she said, hopping down. “Is… is that a fire?” she asked. “You know that this tree is dead, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The flame came nowhere near the roots, and even if they did, the rain likely soaked through the dirt above,” Shadow said, repositioning his cargo on his shoulder. She was still wiggling around, no doubt trying to break free. “How did you even find me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never removed the tracking device from Sonic’s leg,” she replied. “It’s been in there for four months and he still hasn’t noticed. Is that the Black Arms we saw earlier?” Tails asked him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s her,” he said. “Her name’s Blue. She’s told me that we have trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic knows too, now,” Tails replied. “If Black Doom is back we can’t take our chances.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue kicked again. “Dire Doom!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dire Doom</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Shadow said. “Tails, how did you find that out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fox wrung her hands. “Sonic finally came back to apologize and he brought a notebook with some really difficult notes. It took me a few minutes but I pieced it together well enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a vision as well. As long as we’re stuck this way, he has a target painted on his back,” Shadow said. “I didn’t exactly part with Doom on friendly terms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “So why are you holding her like that?” she asked. “Seems a little rude to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She tried to steal the Chaos Emerald I took from her,” Shadow said. “You of all people should know well that he wants those.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but why would he want those? He can’t get up to the ARK on his own,” she said. “Unless Eggman has something we need to know about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well don’t look at me, I haven’t had a talk with him for at least two months. Haven’t really needed to chat until today, actually,” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails sighed. “Then we’ll have to pay him a visit, won’t we? Though you’re going to have to get adjusted to your new abilities if you haven’t already. Sonic’s already got you beat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue kicked Shadow in the face. “Put me down!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow adjusted his shoulder. “Well, he’s not going to be playing around with my powers for long when I find him,” he said. “I don’t think he can handle the stress.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll say,” Tails said. “He went ham with your powers and tired himself out. Only so much head-spinning you can do before you pass out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lightweight,” Shadow remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By the way, how are you feeling?” Tails asked. “Sonic said he felt like he was at a constant temperature all the time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep, sounds about right. Temperature regulation was one of the perks of being engineered in space. If he ran through the rain- and I wouldn’t put it past him- that regulation would easily have kicked in.” He sighed. “And that regulation probably aided in tiring him out. He’s probably not used to being mindful of how much energy he burns.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “Syll would have a field day trying to decipher that metabolism. Though I’m certain yours isn’t too dissimilar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you have to stay slim somehow,” Shadow said. “In any case, can we stay over at Sonic’s place? It’s cold out here. I don’t have any way to regulate heat like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue continued to kick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “Sure. He’s asleep right now, so he shouldn’t protest too much. Though when he sees you, he might… be weird about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I expect no less,” Shadow curtly replied. “Whatever the case, I’m grateful for the hospitality.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails waved him out of the cave as the fire flickered out. “Come on, I spotted more of Eggman’s robots patrolling this place,” she said. “We can’t let them take your friend back- I gleaned from Sonic’s notes that he’s got a few more of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right!” Blue shouted. “And if you don’t let me go, they’ll be after--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pulled her from his shoulder and covered her mouth. “Be quiet, will you?” he said. “Do you want the Doctor to take you away?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue wrestled her mouth away and bit down on his wrist before being dropped to the ground. She carefully stomped onto Shadow’s instep and grabbed the Chaos Emerald he dropped before running off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nearly swore as he watched her escape, but his tears from the sheer pain of getting bit as hard as he did made it difficult to maintain a visual. Tails hissed and came forward, noticing the clear bite mark the alien had left on him. Quickly, she tore one of her sleeves on her blouse and wrapped his wrist. “It’ll hold for a few hours, but that’s gonna require medical attention.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she drew blood. But we gotta get to her fast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’re the fast one now,” she said. “So let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “Second-fastest,” he corrected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now isn’t the time to argue about semantics, Shadow!” Tails shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… less talking, more running.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails jumped into the air and hovered. “Let’s go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow swallowed and revved up. The slick leaves beneath him felt like they were ready to slip any second, but as he got faster and faster that slowly became less and less of an issue. The sure-footed stride seemed ready, and as Shadow dashed forward, it felt wrong, but… somehow right.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Blue scampered into the hovel where Dire Doom had been waiting. He was never too far away, willing to meet her halfway for any in-person communications. He always seemed to be watching her, able to detect where she was at any given time. How he achieved this was likely through the Hivemind, but even so she dared not ask for specifics, however curious her mind was. And it was always curious- </span>
  <em>
    <span>always.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She cradled the Chaos Emerald as she approached her father. “I have returned with it in hand,” she said. “This makes four, correct?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dire Doom was shriveled and gaunt, blackened but somehow greatly lesser in form than his old self. He was tall to compensate, and his spindly fingers never stopped moving. He eagerly waited for Blue, who was dwarfed by his stature. “Good work Blue,” his raspy voice called. His tone was like oil slick over gravel, a smooth and cool drone intermixed with hundreds of sharp vocal pebbles that popped and hissed. Sitting placed in his forehead was a deep stone of black, cut in the shape of a third eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked down. “Are you going to tell me about who I am yet?” she asked. “I gathered two of them for you before,” she said. “I deserve to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My precious Blue,” he said. “You ought to know that a drone such as yourself is meant to take your orders in direct contact. You aren’t meant to give them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I am doing so much for you, don’t I deserve it?” she asked. “I’ve gotten more Emeralds than the rest of my kin. Surely it’s worth something to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Silence,” Dire Doom said. His wrinkled face upturned a bit as he leaned down to examine her. “Place the Emerald with the others, and don’t leave this place until I tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, father,” Blue said. “When will you tell me?” she asked. “I can’t wait forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve waited this long, have you not?” he asked. “You still have an appointed task you need to set to ensure that this plan proceeds forward without a hitch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t understand what you need the Emeralds for, father,” Blue asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When they come together, they can produce a miracle. I intend to turn back the hands of Fate, get back our beloved Comet, and destroy these miserable vermin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The alien thought about her new friend, Sonic. He seemed like the quiet type, not entirely emotionally sure-footed, and certainly brave enough to fall asleep near her. He was a Terrestrial- he shouldn’t have been so unshaken. Perhaps he’d seen her other siblings in battle a year ago? Though there was no way to confirm that- the Super Soldier Project was all that was left aside from Dire Doom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She counted three other siblings in containment. She didn’t exactly remember their names well, but at least one of them had likely broken out of their containment by now. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. She gently placed the Emerald with the others, hidden away in a compartment carved out of the stony floor and covered by a perfectly fitting stone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is troubling you, Blue?” the looming figure asked. His oily body dripped with mucus as he rested at her side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have access to the Hivemind,” she said. “You ought to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d never want to invade your privacy on the matter,” Dire Doom said. “I’m sorry if I was prying, I won’t be such a bother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-No!” Blue said, turning around to face him as she put the rock back in place. “I want to tell you, but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have the floor,” Doom said, his voice curling around the edges of her face like sickly smoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I met this… person. His name is Sonic. He was nice to me, even put a blanket over me because it was so cold. He’s a little shy, but he saved me from someone named “Doctor Eggman”.” She paused for a breath. “Is that where the others are as well? With the Doctor?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, one of your siblings seems to have broken out an hour after you did. Retro has tracked another Emerald,” he replied. “As for the Terrestrial, you’re naive to think that he wouldn’t want to destroy you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what they did to us, Father, but can’t you understand? He was kind, not like how you said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s how they get close to you,” Doom said. A bitter pain endowed the edges of his words with their sting. “Terrestrials are a disappointment. I regret giving my blood to one of them- that ungrateful scoundrel was my undoing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue remembered that Sonic had told her about a Black Arms Hybrid, but before she could speak, Doom picked up her thought. A slight chuckle rumbled in his gravelly tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he following you?” he asked. “If so, I’ll endow you with my strength. You cannot hope to defeat him yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue frowned. “Are you certain? Exerting your force upon such a form like mine could leave me unconscious… or worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will retreat if it grows too intense,” Doom assured. “If my forces were still intact, you’d be inconsequential, but as you are, you’re a valuable piece on the board. Don’t disappoint me, understood?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue knew better than to object to his dehumanizing language. “Yes, Father, I will do my duties to you for the sake of the Lost Colony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They will be approaching any moment now,” Doom said, hiding himself away deeper into the cave. “I wait with bated breath for their sustenance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue only walked a few steps outside the cave when she saw the two pursuers spot her. “There she is!” Sonic called, and she shrieked a bit but shakily widened her stance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t come here!” she yelled. “I told you before- I have to make sure that Father gets his Emeralds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic looked positively put out. “Blue, I trusted you!” he snarled, clenching his fists. “You lied to me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow,” Tails said. “You’re getting worked up. Let’s find the Emerald and take her back with us. That way, we can figure out exactly how--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shrieked as she felt her spine shift and her body gain pressure. She screeched as a pair of long insectoid limbs erupted from her back and she lunged at them. “I have to protect my Colony!” she yelled. “I’m sorry, but I must! Father commands it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blue hedgehog stepped to the side. “Tails, we have a fight on our hands.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Tails looked to Shadow. As usual, he had a stoic and resolute look to him, but now with the appropriate measure of fear considering that he was now much more vulnerable and capable of dying. Stern eyes, bitten lip; widened stance, fidgety left foot. The list went on, but Tails wasn’t one to get exhaustive in the heat of battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She unhooked one of the bracelets around her wrists and tossed it to Shadow. “Hey, put this on,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Shadow asked, cautiously catching it as he watched Blue grow more and more distorted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s one of my Supercells. They’re gauntlets, but I’m sure you’ll find them a bit different than usual.” She pointed to a glittering stone in the center of hers. “If you catch my drift.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned in disgust at the Supercell’s fake Emerald before latching the device around his right wrist. “How will I know this won’t backfire?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I used the same schematics as the one Sonic used in the escape pod. Besides, this is just one fake- from what the others told me, you took the power of hundreds of them at once,” she said. “Hurry, I think that--” She was cut short as a spike lodged itself into the ground next to her. The mucus that came off of it burned through the surrounding leaves and it was then that Tails knew this wasn’t gonna be an easy fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue’s eyes glazed over as if she were no longer in control, and Tails flicked her Straightwinds down and began the fun but dangerous dance through the relentless rain of spikes. She could already feel the residue burn through her remaining sleeve, and she hurriedly tore it away, leaving only the chest piece of the blouse intact. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So much for tailoring then, I guess,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Though another shopping trip wouldn’t hurt- I’m gonna need R&amp;R after this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue continued to screech, her voice now intermingled with Doom’s as she jumped high into the air and moved to come down on Tails. A quick flash of blue blurred across her foggy vision and she came down on Shadow with all of her new extra limbs surrounding him. She tightened her grip around him like a cage and smirked. She was now face to face with him while he struggled to jar even one of the limbs away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow turned around and threw a punch, a move that Blue easily blocked with a firm lock in one of her hands. “Oh, I see now,” the raspy voice said. “You’re Sonic. Quite the marvel, you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow swallowed, unable to pull his arm away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “And I don’t want to hear you talk anymore, either!” He threw the other punch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue locked his other fist in her hand. “Despite your footspeed, your instinct was a punch. Curious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow jostled the Supercell, which activated its armor protocol. Segmented joints covered his fingers and the Emerald inside twinkled with an artificial glow as he wrestled his hand away. “Chaos Control!” he whispered, a taunt meant for her ears and her ears only.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue’s extra limbs unlocked as Shadow disappeared for a brief instant before falling down on top of the alien with a stomp. She collapsed onto the ground but shakily stood back up. “I… I can’t let you win…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails stopped beside Shadow. “I took a sweep of the perimeter, we have bots coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow sighed. “Great, just when it was getting fun,” he snarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, you need to work on your optimism,” Tails said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up! Both of you!” Blue shouted. She stamped her little foot into the dirt. “I can’t…” She geared up with her legs. “You two don’t get our plans, do you?” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swung one of her limbs at Shadow, who artfully dodged it and landed on top before being tossed aside and against one of the trees. She then focused her attention on Tails. “Better take you out, rekindling his rage is sure to get him hunting for us,” Doom said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As one of the legs came down on Tails, the fox unflinchingly gripped it with the Supercell and wrenched the limb from Blue’s body. The alien screeched in pain and the only gesture Tails could think to enlist was a small and extremely apologetic “I’m sorry”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shot another spike, and Tails quickly gripped it, realizing a little too late that it wasn’t a limb and hurriedly having to remove the gauntlet before the acid got to her. The mucus corroded the metal and left most of the open face disintegrated as it tumbled into the grass. “And I just got those operational…” she grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doom was content with bringing a limb down on an unprotected child, but Blue hesitated. “What are you doing?” Doom asked. “You need to finish this fox.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She... “ Blue tried to move the leg closer, but only managed a few inches before stopping again. “Father, she didn’t do anything wrong, don’t you understand?” she said. Another change in voice left the leg slowly inching towards the fox.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails carefully shuffled, but a leg came down in that direction, and then the other, boxing her in against the side of a tree.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s useful to us dead!” Doom shouted. “Don’t you care about our own?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I do!” Blue said. “But she isn’t trying to hurt us. We threw the first punch, wouldn’t that make--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet, whelp, I don’t need to hear your excuses! I want to kill her so I can kill that bastard child of mine,” he said. “You do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>understand such things!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She has done nothing to warrant this!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Blue screamed, bringing down the limb but intentionally missing, if only by a few inches of Tails’ face. “My mission was to find the black hedgehog and destroy him! Not his friends!” she said. “You’re not making any sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we kill his friends he will seek us out, Blue,” Doom said. “Do you want that glory or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Her body began to shake. “I…” She raised up the limb. Tears were streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, friend…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From beyond the low field of vision came a bright flash, a color of white that caught Blue for a moment and suspended her in time like the wax in a newly bought lava lamp. She saw a flash of red hit her square in the face before her vision went dark. All she could hear was the sound of disappointment. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I should have expected this little from you, Blue. I suppose your brother, Retro, will be more promising,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Doom said through the Hivemind. His tone was without a doubt one of pure, unadulterated disgust. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m leaving you to your own devices. Goodbye.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Same Fear, Different Face</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow and Sonic finally meet back with each other and inadvertently agree to a plan for the following day, with the added caveat that they now have to learn to act out each others' parts. In the Dreamscape, Akshi and Rouge have a dinner date, and the bird tells all while simultaneously learning more about his friend.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow quickly picked up Blue, whose extra limbs had shed off like a hedgehog’s baby quills. He held her close to his chest and turned to stare at his rival. The cocky grin looked odd indeed on the black hedgehog, yet it seemed almost enticing enough to try once he got back to his old self. Even so, he refused to admit something such as that. “This is extremely unsettling,” he said. </p><p>“You’re telling me,” Sonic said, staring at Shadow. “Was my voice always that high?”</p><p>“Was mine?” Shadow replied. </p><p>Tails smirked. “Your voices sound lower than they actually are because when you hear them, they travel through the bones in your ears as opposed to just the air.”</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips and adjusted his hold on Blue. “Whatever the case may be, I’m at least glad you managed to get here in time. How are the Air Shoes for you?” he asked.</p><p>“The kicks pack a punch,” Sonic said, remembering the roundhouse kick. “You know, I thought I wouldn’t get the hang of ‘em, but Tails gave me a crash course.” He tilted his head. “How does it feel to be on the ground all the time?”</p><p>“It’s… bearable,” Shadow said. “Definitely not in this weather, but I assume sunny days are nice.” He shook his head. “Tails, we need to get back to the house before the robots find us.”</p><p>Tails smiled and walked over to the ruined Supercell. There was a slight pop as she dislodged the fake Emerald from the center of the gauntlet. “Alright, I think I can rebuild this. Thanks for hanging onto the other one for me.” She walked over to Shadow and pressed a few of the joints in a sequence before it retracted into the small ring it had been before, then detached it from his wrist. “Did you have fun?” she asked.</p><p>“That fake is quite convincing. I can tell it isn’t real, logically, but even my body- well, <em> Sonic’s </em>body- can’t tell much of a difference in terms of what it can do. It’s versatile. Why did you install them into gauntlets?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Well, if I’m ever caught in a situation where we don’t have Knuckles around, I have a backup plan,” she said. “Not gonna get caught flat-footed.”</p><p>Sonic grinned, a look that was certainly strange on Shadow’s face. “You aren’t putting Knuckles out of commission are you?” he asked. </p><p>“No, this isn’t a replacement for a friend,” Tails said. “Otherwise having the Straightwinds on my feet would mean the same for you. And you know well that isn’t the case.”</p><p>“Right,” Sonic sheepishly chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Those things were pretty fast earlier, but I still kept up.”</p><p>“I didn’t even turn on the nitro with those things,” Tails said. “When all of this is sorted out between you two, <em> then </em> we can see how it goes.” She paused. “Though I think we will have a third participant in the race.”</p><p>Shadow turned to face the two of them. “Perhaps when we are done with this little embarrassing moment in our lives we can discuss how I’m going to beat all of you.”</p><p>“You wish,” Sonic said, giving him a punch on the shoulder. </p><p>Shadow hissed as the fist connected, remembering that <em> that </em> arm was the one that had been broken. “ <em> Owwwwwwwwuh!” </em> he groaned. “Your arm got broken when you fell down a hill, could you <em> not </em>subject me to that? And could you please be careful with how hard you swing?” He forgot his own strength sometimes.</p><p>“W-whoops,” Sonic replied. “Guess I’m still getting used to all of this.”</p><p>Tails frowned. “Looks like <em> both </em>of you have a reason to go to see Syll tomorrow,” she said, walking forward. “Let’s get back so you two can rest.”</p><p>Shadow grumbled. “At least I don’t have to get blood drawn,” he said. “That’s a relief.”</p><p>“What’s wrong with getting blood drawn?” Sonic asked.</p><p>“When I was much younger they missed my vein half a dozen times. It’s the downside of black fur,” Shadow said. “Syll doesn’t miss as much because he doesn’t have the vision of a 70-year-old, but he still missed once the first time I got it drawn for Briar.”</p><p> Sonic began following Tails, and Shadow groggily followed close behind. “Okay, so what?” Sonic said. “I go in, I take it like a champ, and--”</p><p>“No, you don’t get it, you dolt.” Shadow gingerly raised his hurt arm and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “He’s bound to find out if you just “take it like a champ”. He doesn’t need to know,” he said.</p><p>“Why not? This isn’t exactly the weirdest thing to happen to us,” Sonic replied. “Maybe if Syll was an ordinary person but… well, he knows what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into.”</p><p>“I don’t want him to know what happened, it’s…” Shadow swallowed hard.</p><p>“Oh, I see, now that you get to see what’s so great about being like this you don’t wanna go back,” Sonic said.</p><p>“If I had both of my arms working and unoccupied they’d both be at your throat right about now,” Shadow said. “I don’t want him to see me like this because it’s <em> pitiful. </em>”</p><p>Sonic frowned. “Hey, it’s better than you! I mean, I loved how I looked, and now I look like I walked out of a store for goths. I was half-tempted to go to the store and get dye to fix the problem.”</p><p>“Dye my fur and quills any other color and I’ll make sure you can never see color again when we switch back.” Shadow carefully adjusted his working arm so Blue stayed on. She was still out cold, but she was breathing clearly, at the very least. He swallowed his spit again and frowned. </p><p>“Oooo, a threat,” Sonic teased. </p><p>“It isn’t a threat, it’s a promise,” Shadow flatly remarked. “Don’t disappoint me.”</p><p>Sonic frowned. “You’re no fun when you’re tired, you know that?” he said.</p><p>“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly able to take as much damage as I usually do right now,” he said. “This body is fragile and vulnerable, and it leaves me unsettled.”</p><p>Sonic chuckled. “Well, you just have to learn how to swing it around the right way,” he said. “Not much good to use your arms.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “My instincts are still here. Muscle memory is biting harder than normal.”</p><p>Tails quietly grinned. “And what about you, Sonic? You were showing more discomfort beforehand, surely you must have something to say on the matter.”</p><p>Sonic frowned. “Thanks for outing me, buddy,” he said. “Yeah, this situation isn’t ideal for me, either. I couldn’t walk very well at first, and my voice is all sorts of messed up. It’s like your tone sucks all the optimism out of everything.”</p><p>“Maybe you could focus on <em> what </em>makes you happy instead of what’s making you miserable?” Shadow asked. “Seems to be the best solution.”</p><p>“Well, I <em> was </em>pretty happy to be honest with my friend, and I was happy to have that party, even if it went south for a little bit,” he said. “I still like to run, and I can’t wait to get back to that.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “See? It already sounds a little brighter than normal,” he smugly replied.</p><p>“Really?” Sonic asked. The usual deep voice cracked a bit from the excitement.</p><p>“Pfffft… n-no, not really…” He tried desperately to muscle the corners of his mouth away from their upturn, but failed as he stifled a laugh. Sonic eyed him with a smouldering annoyance that only made Shadow chuckle harder. “I-I’m sorry, but… no, I’m not really that sorry, that’s just…”</p><p>“You done laughing?” Sonic asked.</p><p>Shadow swallowed. He didn’t exactly expect to be on the business end of his own glare. “That voice crack, and that expression… I couldn’t help it…”</p><p>Sonic rolled his eyes. “You know, that’s a good look for you.”</p><p>“What?” Shadow asked, instantly dropping the smile.</p><p>“No, no, go back…” Sonic said. “You were getting there.”</p><p>“Getting where?”</p><p>“Pretending to be me,” Sonic said. “If you want me to play the part, you gotta play the part, too.”</p><p>“Sonic’s right, Shadow,” Tails said. “It would be more efficient to bring you <em> both </em>into the office tomorrow. Efficient for my gas tank, efficient for time… just all-around efficient. So you’d be acting right along with him.” She narrowed her eyes mischievously. “Unless you want him to know.”</p><p>Shadow was about to argue, but the fox girl had a point. “Okay, fine. When we get back to the house, I’m taking a hot shower and then…” he paused. “And then you’ll be showing me how to be you.”</p><p>“And vice versa,” Tails said. “Sonic, you have the walk down, but you still need the talk.”</p><p>“Ugh, all those big, stuffy words?” Sonic asked. “I’m going to see a friend, not the Queen!” he said. “I don’t <em> need </em>to pull those out unless I’m at a fancy event.”</p><p>Shadow smiled. “I don’t know, he’s gonna ask you about “stress cardiomyopathy”. I’m pretty sure you’re gonna wanna be prepared with some big-boy words.”</p><p>“I don’t need you to patronize me,” Sonic said.</p><p>“Well, there’s one,” Shadow replied. He was catching Sonic’s cadence. “Keep up the good work, champ.”</p><p>Tails shivered. “Shadow, that was... I guess that means I’m gonna be the judge of your progress.”</p><p>“Hopefully we won’t have to keep the facade up for too long though, right?” Shadow asked. “I can’t exactly act like him for too long.”</p><p>“It only has to be off and on for an hour or two, depending on how long the examination takes,” Tails said. </p><p>Both of the hedgehogs groaned at her.</p><p>“Oh, don’t give me that, you two are already doing great.”</p><p>“Really?” Shadow said. “And what makes you say that?”</p><p>“Because you two agreed to a plan without fighting.”</p><p>As the four made it back to the house, Tails scoped for any robots before deadbolting the door. “Alright, should be clear, mostly.”</p><p>Shadow gently set Blue down on the couch and slid a thin blanket over her sleeping frame. She whispered in her sleep, but it was too difficult to make out, so Shadow gleaned nothing from it. He wondered what she was dreaming about, and if it was more pleasant than what he’d seen earlier. He fought his train of thought, fighting against its call to return to <em> exactly </em>what he’d seen.</p><p>“Tails,” Sonic said. “Don’t you need to sleep?”</p><p>“I’ve been up <em> way </em> longer than this before,” she said. “As long as I get sleep <em> sometime, </em>I’ll be able to handle it. I’ll probably nap in the office, to be honest.” She yawned a bit. “Anyway, it looks like Blue is still out cold. You really kicked her hard, Sonic.”</p><p>“I didn’t expect the shoes to be that heavy,” Sonic said. “They feel like regular shoes to me.”</p><p>“That’s because they’re built for my body,” Shadow said, pulling open the cooler and grabbing a lemonade. He checked the label before cracking it open. </p><p>Sonic picked up a cola and cracked it open before holding it to his lips. He watched as Shadow’s eyes widened and he shimmied his way away from him. “Oh, no, I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.</p><p>“I can’t be drinking caffeine this early in the morning!” Shadow protested. “Do you have any idea how that’ll affect--”</p><p>“I’m not you, remember?” Sonic said. “Besides, Rouge let me do it before.”</p><p>Shadow scowled. “Right. Rouge…” He looked away. “What did she tell you?”</p><p>Sonic paused. “Heh, um…” he awkwardly shifted his weight as he took another sip. “She said she kissed you, I think?”</p><p>Shadow bristled hard, something Sonic hadn’t really ever seen himself do for obvious reasons. The hedgehog with the cola felt a tickle in his nose as the soda went slightly up it from the stifled chuckle. </p><p>“Listen, she’s bent outta shape about what she did,” Sonic said. “I don’t think--”</p><p>“I don’t care what you think,” Shadow said, cutting him off. “She did this to us! To me! This is a bigger embarrassment than… than…”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa, being me is fun and exciting,” Sonic said.</p><p>“Yeah, maybe when <em> you’re </em>being you. But this…” Shadow looked away. “Why did she have to be so desperate?”</p><p>Tails frowned. “This must be about what Akshi told her.”</p><p>The two of them looked at the fox. “Akshi?” Sonic asked.</p><p>Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s… who’s Akshi?”</p><hr/><p>Akshi took a look at the noodles the faceless waitress handed him and the white bat across the table. Carefully, she picked up her chopsticks and began slurping at her bowl of udon. He was unnerved by how wet it looked, but the smell of freshly cut vegetables and savory chicken chunks seemed to trump that easily. He looked at Rouge apologetically as he broke his chopsticks, not knowing what to do with them aside from trying to copy his dinner date.</p><p>Rouge frowned and waved down the waitress, who immediately handed him a set of basic silverware. She pensively gazed at the bird, trying to determine exactly why he’d been so aloof on the walk over here. When he finally got the hang of the utensils he’d been given, she continued. “So,” Rouge said. “Where were we?”</p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry, Rouge, but this food is really delicious. How do you remember all these tastes so well?” he asked.</p><p>“That isn’t important right now, I told you I wanted answers,” she replied. </p><p>“Aw, can’t it wait until after we’re done?” the bird asked. “It’s so good.”</p><p>“Cut the crap, Akshi, I’m not here for your stall tactics. If you want, I can just leave,” she said.</p><p>Akshi set down the fork he was using to fish the noodles out of the soup. “Fine,” he said. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “That thing was obviously another trick from Luneria.”</p><p><em> “Which </em>Luneria?” Rouge said. “There are eight of them.”</p><p>“I don’t know!” Akshi shouted. The restaurant did not react, just as Rouge expected. “They always feel the same color of gross when I’m around them, the force feels similar.” He looked out the window at the green glow in the sky. “Though this one feels more dull, like an aching throb rather than a sharp puncture.”</p><p>“There are eight of them, from what I was told,” Rouge said. “We’ve found four of them- Requiem, Aria, Ny--”</p><p>“Requiem? Aria?” Akshi asked. “What… no, that can’t be right.”</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Rouge asked.</p><p>Akshi swallowed hard. “Those were the names of my companions back before we were broken,” he said. “Are they… still alive?” he asked.</p><p>“I mean, Requiem doesn’t speak, and Aria is an egomaniacal lunatic,” the bat said.</p><p>Akshi’s eyes downturned and he sighed. “So they really are gone, and the spider is flaunting around their names like war trophies.” The corner of his mouth twitched in irritation. “So I was right,” he said. “They’re tricking me with an image of her.”</p><p>“Of who?” Rouge asked. “You still haven’t answered that for me.” She slurped up another noodle.</p><p>Akshi tried to mirror her movement but the noodle fell back into the bowl. He grimaced. “I don’t even want to say her name.”</p><p>Rouge thought for a moment. If the Eyes had epithets from the names of Akshi’s friends, then there was only one name that fit the bill. “The Wisher’s Garnet referred to herself as “Sonata”. Is that the right name?”</p><p>Akshi looked away. “Please… please don’t say my sister’s name,” he said. “She meant too much to me.”</p><p>Rouge looked at him. She’d seen this before, she’d seen this pain. She remembered the countless times she’d catch Shadow trying to take caffeine to avoid the dreams when she’d housed him while his place was getting set up, she remembered the sound of water rushing through the pipes in the walls during late-night showers, she remembered the days and days of pacing back and forth after mulling over his nightmares. And now, the haunting visage of this girl, whoever Sonata was, had taken over Akshi’s sanity just like how Maria had haunted her best friend.</p><p>“Who is Octave?” Rouge asked him.</p><p>Akshi glared at her more harshly than before. “Do not <em> ever </em> call me that. Ever. Nobody gets to call me that.”</p><p>“Akshi, I don’t unders--”</p><p><em> “NO!” </em>He stood up and slammed his hands onto the table. “She’s the only one who’s allowed to call me that. That name is sacred to her and her alone. You can’t just--”</p><p>“I won’t use it, fine!” Rouge snarked. “You could have easily just asked.”</p><p>“No, I really couldn’t have, you don’t understand.” He sighed. “It was part of my sealing oath. When I took on the responsibility of regulating the Seven Chimes- my seven companions- my name was unchained from my spirit, and it no longer applied. The only one who ever used it after that was Sonata.”</p><p>“That doesn’t add up,” Rouge said. “What happened to your friends when they were found by Luneria?”</p><p>“Aria- the one who <em> took </em>Aria’s name, at least- turned them all to crystal and they fed on their souls. They disappeared- the Chaos Energy of their spirits simply ceased to be more than energy to fuel those monsters.”</p><p>“Would the Eye that took Sonata have any way to learn your name?” Rouge asked. “I assume she took Sonata’s soul then.”</p><p>“Well, no- memories are a part of one’s persona. Your experiences make you who you are. If she were eaten, that part of her would die along with the rest of who she is.”</p><p>“Then how did Sonata know your name earlier?” she said. She clutched her head. “The girl, not the gem that took her name.”</p><p>Akshi paused before he sat down. “That <em>doesn’t </em>add up, does it?” he said. “She should be dead. She shouldn’t even be wandering around here. If that was her, her soul is trapped here like mine but she’s no longer attached to her body. “ His eyes brightened up a little but remained grave. “This is getting interesting, and not necessarily a <em>good </em>kind of interesting…” </p><p>Rouge pointed to his soup. “It’s gonna get cold,” she said.</p><p>“You could make it warm again,” he said. “This <em> is </em>your space, after all.”</p><p>Rouge sighed and focused on the bowl. Slowly, steam began to rise from the surface of the soup bowl. “You’re welcome,” she flatly spoke.</p><p>“You’re… actually quite good at this, bat,” Akshi said, impressed by how quickly and naturally she heated the soup. “How long have you been able to do things like this?” He continued his meal.</p><p>“I’ve always been a vivid dreamer, but they got stronger when I started stealing things. And I’ve been stealing for the majority of my life.” Rouge frowned. “For a while it was just how I got by- life was rough growing up, to be honest- but as time went on, I learned that the government was tracking my thefts. I snuck into one of their facilities, wiped my records clean, and… well, that’s when the trap was sprung.”</p><p>“And then?”</p><p>“And then I was given an ultimatum,” Rouge said. “Take the job moonlighting as an agent, or face legalities. My choice should have been obvious, and frankly I don’t regret it one bit. Little puppy me couldn’t even imagine the life I’m living now.” </p><p>“Luxury, huh?” Akshi said. “Didn’t know you were into all that. I thought it was just fun to steal jewels.”</p><p>“It is fun,” Rouge said. “Plus I’m giving back to the community.”</p><p>“Oh?” Akshi asked. “What, do you give the jewels back or something?”</p><p>“Hardly,” Rouge said. “I take the most prized ones. It’s better that way. And sometimes, I don’t even think about it until I’m already reaching into the glass cabinet. I give back by giving the stores a reason to up their security.”</p><p>“Interesting. How... exactly do you go about stealing anything in such a big place, though?” Akshi asked. He put his hands on the bowl after he finished the last noodle. “There are so many people watching.”</p><p>“Seventeen,” Rouge said.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Seventeen staff members here, five visible cameras, and only two exits,” she said. “The point is that I scope out places <em> before </em>I steal.”</p><p>“And what would you be stealing here?” he asked.</p><p>Rouge pointed to a vase that sat on the top shelf in the restaurant without even turning her head to look at it. “See that there? There’s a camera that’s <em> only </em>pointed at it and nothing else. It’s obvious that it’s something of some value. Though why it’s in a joint like this is a mystery. But on occasion there are… curators, I suppose… who would be wrestling with the current owners for that piece of property.”</p><p>“So you do it for others? The curators commission you for it?”</p><p>“No, I still do it for myself, I just use the inside information to get the item before they do, and then upcharge them. If they come to me with an offer and I decline, I can later use that offer and they won’t be as likely to have it in writing since I never agreed to anything. That’s just how the hustle works.” Rouge watched as Akshi drank the broth from his bowl. “You don’t have to drink that, you know.”</p><p>“I was told by my parents never to waste a good meal, didn’t yours?” he asked.</p><p>Rouge looked away but said nothing.</p><p>Akshi immediately understood. “I’m… I’m sorry, that was really insensitive, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“You didn’t know. Nobody knows. Not even my closest friends,” Rouge said. “In fact, this is probably the first time I’ve spoken about it to anybody in a long time.”</p><p>Akshi wrung his hands. “Sometimes parents just choose to--”</p><p>“No,” Rouge said. Her voice was soft but its tone was sharp. “That wasn’t what happened. Nobody…” She frowned and wiped at her eyes. She didn’t even notice that her concealer had rubbed off on her glove. “Nobody meant for it to happen. The car that hit us had faulty brakes. That’s what my Aunt told me. But I know better than to trust her word.”</p><p>Akshi took note of the exposed skin below the spot where the makeup had rubbed off and did his best not to smirk before nodding resolutely. “Rouge, take me to where you live,” he said, attempting to distract her.</p><p>“What?” Rouge asked, taken aback by how blunt he was being. “Why?”</p><p>“Because I want to see the city from a nice place,” he said. “And I wanna bring up what I asked you earlier. But not here, not when you’re upset like this. I know better than to let this escalate.”</p><p>Rouge hesitated. Akshi was indeed being rather considerate, and they were both done with their food. The bat went to raise her hand for the check, but Akshi grabbed her wrist gently and pulled the arm back down. “What are you doing?” she asked.</p><p>“No time for that-- let’s go.” He smiled a knowing smile.</p><p>A grin broke across Rouge’s face. She knew that it was inconsequential to leave without paying in her dreams, but that little moment of joy she felt was somehow just as real as it would have been in the waking world. And it was probably because she didn’t feel so alone doing it.</p><p>Akshi smiled and lead her out the door and into the night, content to distract her from the past if only for a moment. Rouge forged on ahead with her hand firmly locked around his wrist. </p><p>“Come on,” she said. “It shouldn’t be too far.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to GaySarahK for the line "the kicks pack a punch". It's bloody brilliant!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Little Blue Dress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After explaining what she saw in the dreamscape, Tails comes to find out a secret about her best friend that only brings them closer together.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow finished sipping his lemonade as he sat with his elbows on his knees on the couch. “So all this time, the Master Emerald has been housing a spirit just like Rouge was last month?” he asked.</p><p>Tails nodded. “He saved us from breaking apart prematurely, actually,” she replied. “Rouge got wounded a bit trying to protect the rest of us, but ultimately he was there to warp us out of there.”</p><p>Sonic grinned. “So there’s another user of Chaos Control?”</p><p>“Yeah, though he didn’t want me to say he was as proficient as Shadow. Heck, possibly he’s <em> more </em>proficient.” She turned to Shadow. “Though since he can’t really be ‘here’, so to speak, you’re still the best user,” she assured.</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. “Well it certainly isn’t made easier by this switch,” he said. “The Chaos Control I performed earlier made me dizzy.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Sonic said. “For all that I’m better than you at, even I’ll admit you have me beat there. But I’m catchin’ up, don’t you worry,” he added.</p><p>“Sure you are,” Shadow snarked. </p><p>Tails frowned. “You two, stay focused.”</p><p>“Akshi, right,” Sonic said. “So he can travel into dreams?”</p><p>“Yeah, and he said he can enter ones that are tied to the Eyes. Which means that whoever has been affected probably is able to be paid a visit.” Tails paused. “Maybe he can reach one of you. Have either of you fallen asleep recently? Did you see anything?”</p><p>Sonic shook his head. “I slept for a little bit, but it was really weird. I was back in Green Hill, just soaking up the sunlight in a hammock.”</p><p>“Sounds like your kind of dream,” Shadow remarked, though he seemed only half paying attention.</p><p>Sonic continued anyways. “Tails, it was weird but I woke because I heard someone shouting. A girl…”</p><p>Shadow audibly swallowed his spit. Tails looked at him. “Shadow, do you have something to say?” she asked.</p><p>“I…” He shook a bit and dropped his can of lemonade onto the floor. “I-I don’t…” His mind flashed to the nightmare he’d recently relived, then to last month’s events. He began to breathe more shallow, and his chest began to ache. He put his hand up to his chest and bit his lip as the ache grew and grew. Soon, he found himself digging his fingernails through the white gloves into the peach-colored fur of his rival’s- now his- chest. “I can’t…” he wheezed.</p><p>Tails pursed her lips. “Sonic, go get him some water, it’s happening again.”</p><p>Sonic, rather than give some snide remark, nodded understandingly and ran up to the open kitchen. “Shadz, do you want ice?”</p><p>Shadow felt tears rolling down his cheeks, not from any sadness but just out of the sheer pain the panic attack was giving him. He swore he couldn’t breathe. He furiously nodded, and Tails relayed that nod, and the sound of a fridge dispensing ice sounded from behind.</p><p>Tails gently stroked his back and reached her hand out. “You don’t have to take it but it’s there in case you need it.” She already seemed aware that he wouldn’t take her offer- he never did. But even the extension of such a courtesy was enough to comfort Shadow, even if it was only a slight comfort. He just continued to breathe as deeply as he could, which wasn’t much, in through the nose and out through the mouth. </p><p>Sonic returned and offered the water to his rival. Shadow gently grasped the cup and shakily held it to his lips before taking a few large gulps. Sonic had never seen anybody in such a state, and seeing something like this on his own face was altogether foreign as well as incredibly uncomfortable. Even so, he dared not bring Shadow to any state of anger by making a remark about it. This panic attack had nothing to do with him, best not to make it about himself.</p><p>Sonic sat down. “Do you need a few minutes?”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “I’m fine, I just had another attack.”</p><p>“I’m not blind, I can see that,” Sonic replied. “I’m asking if you need to take a break from whatever we were talking abou--”</p><p>“I <em> did </em>catch Akshi, that’s who was with Rouge,” Shadow said. “I just… the place we were in wasn’t exactly something I like to repeat out loud.”</p><p>Tails nodded, already figuring what he’d meant. “Shadow, you should go clear your head with a shower.”</p><p>Sonic bristled a bit. “Wait, you were serious about that back there? But--”</p><p>“Hey, it’s not that big of a deal is it?” Shadow asked. “I’m not gonna be invasive or anything, I’ll treat you with some dignity,” he said. “I mean, we aren’t exactly different in--”</p><p>Sonic stood up. “No, don’t go in there, not without me.”</p><p>Shadow stood up, but Sonic grabbed his arm. “Let go, you don’t need to follow me into the bath--”</p><p>“I’m not tryin’ to be weird, I just…” he looked over at Tails. “Shadow, please, let me come into the bathroom for a second, I need to discuss something with you <em> alone. </em>”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “You can wait your turn to use the restroom,” he said.</p><p><em> “That isn’t the problem, Shadz,” </em> Sonic muttered. He stood up and dragged the other hedgehog into the bathroom. “Sorry, Tails, I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Tails frowned and she wondered exactly why Sonic was so uncomfortable with Shadow going into the bathroom alone. It was already strange he’d been so cagey about it, but his insistence on a dual occupation for even the slightest of moments left her with a curiosity for further inquiry.</p><p>Tails hopped off the couch and began walking towards the bathroom when she heard Blue stir on the couch. She tried to pay it no mind, but then a word came out of the little alien’s mouth.</p><p>
  <em> “Shadow…” </em>
</p><p>Tails turned around and tilted her head. “What?” she asked aloud. Somehow she found Blue’s utterings even more fascinating than what was happening in the bathroom, which had gone deathly quiet. She rounded the couch to the kitchen to retrieve a cold pack from the fridge before returning. “Hey,” she sweetly said. “It’s time to wake up, okay?”</p><p>Blue’s eyes shot open and she screamed. “Please!” she said.</p><p>“Huh?” Tails asked. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“It’s nothing,” Blue said. “Just a nightmare. I’ve had them all my life.” She carefully took the ice pack and held it to her head. </p><p>“Over fifty years of nightmares?” Tails asked. “You sound more bent up about it than you’re letting on.”</p><p>“Well, it’s always about the memories I lost. Every time I have them they’re the same, but different. This time the walls were purple with ooze, just like the Comet Colony,” she said. She curled her legs up to her face and wrapped the blanket around her. “You wouldn’t get it.”</p><p>“That’s okay,” the fox replied. She gently stroked Blue’s wings from above the blanket. “You’re safe here with us now.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Blue said. Her eyes were downturned. </p><p>“You said you lost your memories?” Tails asked. “Do you remember anything?”</p><p>“Sirens, a Black Arms like me rushing to escape from the danger that was around us, ragged breath, and the color blue. That’s all I have to remember.” She clutched her head and squeaked for a moment before settling back down into a solemn state. “Father said he’d give me my memories back, but when I got hurt back there he…” She began crying. “He turned me loose. What am I supposed to do without someone commanding me?”</p><p>Tails frowned and pulled the blanket around her further. “Hey, now. You’re gonna be okay. We can still get you those memories and you won’t have to listen to him anymore. It’s gonna be okay.” Her eyes scanned the floor passively as the gears started turning in her head. “Tell you what, why don’t I get you something to feel better?” she said.</p><p>“What could possibly make me feel better?” Blue asked. Her head was the only thing sticking out of the blanket as she sat on the edge of the couch. The ice pack was pinned between her head and the blanket. </p><p>Tails thought for a moment, but soon smiled. “Hang on,” she said, whipping out her phone and tapping on the screen. She held it to her ear. “Bastette?” </p><p>“It’s four in the morning, Tails, can’t you go back to bed?” she said.</p><p>“There’s no time to explain,” the fox said, pacing back and forth in front of the couch. “That little alien we saw? She needs an outfit.”</p><p>“What makes you think that I have anything?”</p><p>“Well, you <em> do </em>have a little sister, and Blue is a little smaller than her.”</p><p>“Right, right,” the cat groggily spoke over the line. “Yeah, okay, when do you need them?”</p><p>“As soon as possible would be best,” she replied. “Sorry for the short notice.”</p><p>“It’s fine. Did you... find Sonic?” she nervously asked. “He ran off into the woods and--”</p><p>“Bastette, something tells me you knew they were switched. I mean, you pulled Shadow outside.”</p><p>“Alright, fine, I knew, but I didn’t wanna tell you because it wouldn’t have made you feel any better,” Bastette replied. “I’m sorry. Lemme put on something halfway decent and I’ll be over. I think I have the perfect thing in storage.”</p><p>“Why do you have that storage anyway?” Tails asked. “Don’t you think it would be better to just give those away?”</p><p>“Tails, I told you before- when I’m able to settle down I wanna have a child of my own. It would be nice to have some clothes so I can save on costs. Kids aren’t cheap, you know,” the cat said. “Even so, I can part with this one- it might have been cute on Briar, but she screamed whenever she wore it.”</p><p>Tails heard the sound of Shadow yelling at Sonic through the bathroom door. It was a short and pained sound and it only lasted a second or two, but it still took her by surprise. “It’ll have to do,” she said to her friend. “I’ll see you here soon.”</p><p>Bastette hung up and Tails looked at Blue. “Wait here a second.”</p><p>Tails ran over to the kitchen counter and got a few of the spare cookies from the tray that sat there before running back. As she came back, she spotted a weird note on the calendar on the fridge, a note that seemed to occur every week on the same day. It said each time, including today, “Tea Party”. Tails tilted her head- maybe Sonic brought Briar to her tea parties with Cream? </p><p>Tails continued to ponder, and the longer she did the harder it was to believe that it had anything to do with the little cat. “Here, you should eat, otherwise you’ll feel sick,” she said, coming back over.</p><p>Blue gingerly took the sugar cookie and munched down on it, and her expression became less bitter. “For a terrestrial, your food is pretty good,” she said.</p><p>“Oh, I didn’t make it, it was store-bought. Even so, it <em> is </em>really sweet.”</p><p>Blue smiled. “What is your name?” she asked.</p><p>“Well, I haven’t decided on my new name yet, so I just go by Tails right now. It’s my nickname and it still fits like a glove.”</p><p>Blue smiled a little more. “Tails? It’s cute,” she said. </p><p>“Heh, thanks,” the fox replied.</p><p>Sonic exited the bathroom and frowned. He held a hand behind his back. “Hey, sorry about that Tails. I, uh…”</p><p>“Sonic, what do you have there?” Tails asked. “I mean, you’re acting really weird. Is there something you wanna tell me?” She tapped her foot impatiently. </p><p>Sonic frowned. “Tails, I <em> want </em>to tell you, but I’m not really sure how to bring it up.”</p><p>“Well, you can trust me, right?” she asked.</p><p>“Tails, I don’t know what you’d think of me if I--”</p><p>“Do you trust me?”</p><p>Sonic sighed, but didn’t put his arm down. “It’s… medicine,” he said. </p><p>Tails could spot a bad lie on his face. “Sonic, what is it <em> really </em>?”</p><p>“I’m telling you the truth, Tails!” Sonic looked away. “It isn’t something I want to tell you about because I don’t want you to think of me any different.”</p><p>Tails nodded. “Look, I get it, you want to wait until you’re back to your old self before you tell me.”</p><p>“I didn’t really plan on telling you in the first place,” Sonic admitted.</p><p>Tails frowned. “What was that about not being afraid to tell me if something’s wrong, though?” She felt rather miffed that he’d be so hypocritical.</p><p>“Tails, you of all people should know why I can’t tell you,” he said. </p><p>Tails paused. “Wait just a second. You said it was medicine, right?” she said. “And you took Shadow into the bathroom.”</p><p>Sonic frowned. “You’re analyzing this a lot, aren’t you?”</p><p>Tails thought for a moment. “You didn’t need Shadow in the bathroom unless you were administering something, right? And that uncomfortable bickering earlier… it would make the most sense that whatever you have has to be administered via a needle of some kind.”</p><p>Sonic took a step backwards towards his bedroom. He was clearly uncomfortable. “You’re sharper than what you think is behind my back.”</p><p>Tails nodded. “Something tells me that your “Tea Party” might be a play on words.”</p><p>Sonic swallowed and mouthed a curse word. “I knew I should have put that calendar away…”</p><p>Tails sighed and carefully walked over to him. “Hand it over, the jig is up.”</p><p>Sonic shook his head. “Tails, I didn’t want you to ever know, it was better this way. If I hadn’t said anything you’d still think of me as--”</p><p>“Sonic, I always thought of you as a brother and I always will. I never changed, and you know that, even though you knew who I was beforehand, I never changed. And just because I can guess what’s going on here, I wouldn’t even dare to think of you as any less of a big brother.”</p><p>Sonic’s eyes widened. “I…”</p><p>Tails gestured with her hand.</p><p>Shakily, Sonic placed the tube in her hand. She carefully read the label and pensively nodded. “How long?”</p><p>“Since before we met.” Sonic gestured for her to come towards his bedroom. “There’s something I want to show you, something… something that maybe I wanted to <em> give </em>you once I found out today but never got to.”</p><p>Tails turned back to Blue. “You better stay here.”</p><p>Blue frowned. “You can’t make me do anything.”</p><p>Tails smiled and grabbed a DVD that sat on the shelf. “Not even this?” she asked.</p><p>“What is that?”</p><p>Sonic grinned. “I think you’ll find it’s pretty nice,” he said as Tails clicked the player on. “It’s a classic.”</p><p>Bright colors entranced the little alien as she munched on her cookies. It was definitely a kid’s film, but the technicolor movements kept her busy as the friends ducked into Sonic’s room.</p><p>Tails frowned at the mess of comics on the floor. “You know brown recluse spiders make their homes in piles like this, right?”</p><p>“I’ve never found one, so I’m pretty sure I’m safe,” Sonic said. </p><p>Tails took a look at her surroundings. The bed was pristine while the floor wasn’t, the scent of incense seemed to linger through the room until it evaporated on the cool air of the open window. There was a collection of games and a gaming system hooked up to an older CRT television.</p><p>Sonic knelt down in front of his open closet and pulled out a box. “I’ve hidden this from a lot of folks over the years. I thought I wouldn’t have to look at it again, it’s kinda embarrassing.”</p><p>“Oh?” Tails asked. “Why? Too many painful memories?”</p><p>“Not super painful, but definitely cringeworthy,” he said. “Um... “ He rummaged around inside. “Here, this’ll be nice.”</p><p>Tails began to smile as Sonic pulled out a small blue dress. “This…” he said. “This was the last dress I ever wore.” He held it out to Tails. “I wanna give it to you, since you would be wearing it more than I ever would. Call it passing my old femininity to you, or whatever.”</p><p>Tails smiled and looked at it. It was a cute little sundress that came down to the knees. It was covered in tropical floral patterns. “Do you… Are you sure? It’s such an important part of your past. I wouldn’t wanna--”</p><p>“Tails, I wouldn’t give it to you if I wanted to keep it. But, if you don’t mind, I wanna see if it fits.” He paused. “Oh, right!” He fished into the box again. “Here, here is the other piece you’ll want.”</p><p>Tails felt like she was going to cry- it was a white bow headband to match the white florals. “Go outside, I gotta change.”</p><p>As Sonic rose from the floor, he felt a strange sort of relief wash over him. Though it was cut short by his little sis calling him. “Yeah, what’s up?” he responded.</p><p>“Thank you, you have no idea how nice this gift is,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better than something so personal.”</p><p>“What are best friends for? It’s a personal gift for someone so personal to me. I hope… I hope it makes you more happy than it ever did to me.”</p><p>Sonic left and returned to Blue’s side. “You’re pretty happy to see a movie, aren’t you?” he asked.</p><p>“I’ve never seen a movie before,” the alien said. Her eyes didn’t seem to register him. “It’s beautiful!”</p><p>Sonic furrowed. “I’m connected to the Hivemind, you know. Since Shad-- I mean, since <em> my </em>blood is Black Arms.”</p><p>She turned her gaze and looked him up and down. “You look familiar,” she said. “I guess it’s because I can tell you’re Black Arms.”</p><p>“Impossible,” Sonic said, trying to match Shadow’s cadence. “I’ve never even seen you before.”</p><p>Blue frowned. “You’re not very warm, are you?” she said. “Yet another trait of Black Arms- their temperament isn’t always as receptive. We don’t have much need for it though- our soldiers are disposable- comradery would create division.”</p><p>Sonic paused. “I <em> choose </em> to be picky with my friends,” he said. “There’s nothing genetic about it.”</p><p>“I beg to differ,” Blue replied. “But I think you and your group here are the first people I’ve ever been able to call something more than a “soldier”. Not that I had much time out of my pod, though- Father always wanted me guarded and kept under surveillance.”</p><p>“So you were locked up, too, huh?” Sonic said. He rested his eyes at half-lid and sat back with his arms folded behind his head. “Can’t say I’ve never been there.”</p><p>“Oh?” Blue said. “I doubt it’s been more than me. I’ve been locked away for over half a century,” she said. </p><p>“That’s roughly how long I was in stasis,” Sonic replied. He knew that he had to sell this to her. </p><p>A quick flash of a memory passed his vision- the smell of metal and the sight of a pleading pair of blue eyes mere inches from the glass. His breath hitched.</p><p>Blue curled her legs against her chest. “Did you… hate them for doing that?”</p><p>Sonic grimaced. He wasn’t sure how to answer that question. After all, that was more of an emotional question than anything, and he wasn’t Shadow, so that opinion was unknown to the blue blur. “Um, well…”</p><p>“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer,” she said. “It must be tough trying to find a way to forgive whoever did that to you.”</p><p>“It sounds like you’re having your doubts, too,” Sonic replied. Cautiously, he rested his hand on her head. “You’re safe here, and it’s okay to doubt.” He paused, putting the mask back on. “I mean, I’m not exactly someone who would be anything more than professional with them, but I’m slowly getting over the raid.”</p><p>“The… raid?” Blue asked. She had a strange entranced look on her face, but her eyes weren’t pointed at him. “What happened during the raid?” she said.</p><p>“They…” Sonic squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip slightly, trying to muster a bit more concern. He wasn’t Shadow, he had no memory of the incident, but… the thought of watching someone you know and love die struck him surprisingly harsh. He didn’t even think about how bad the feeling was the month prior, but Tails getting turned into crystal sent shivers down his spine and drudged up something he thought he’d forgotten about.</p><p>For the first time since he was a child, Sonic had a nightmare after the incident had been over. He didn’t tell Tails about it, but it was the same night she’d told him that she was spending time at a sleepover with the girls. The same night she’d promised him not to keep secret what was bothering her. That night, his fear of losing her had resurfaced.</p><p>“Mister, are you…” Blue stopped herself. “What is that face for?”</p><p>Sonic broke from his trance. “I… It’s just painful, that’s all.” He tried to play off of what he’d said before the memory had interrupted him. “I don’t want to remember what happened to her.”</p><p>Blue went to raise her hand up, but stopped and stared at it instead. Her eyes glanced back and forth slightly, and it was clear she wasn’t quite sure of something. </p><p>Sonic wiped a stray tear from his face. “I don’t know what Sonic is planning,” he said. “But if he says he has some way to find your memories, then I…” Sonic swallowed for a second, not able to believe he was about to say what he would say. Then again, Shadow probably wouldn’t offer him the same courtesy. “Then I trust his judgement.”</p><p>“I hope you’re right,” she said. “Otherwise, I don’t know how I’d ever learn the truth. I mean, I want to know so bad, you have <em> no </em>idea.”</p><p><em> Maybe not the same idea, but I have some idea, </em> he thought.</p><p>Blue’s brow furrowed. “Did you just…” she softly spoke.</p><p>“What?” Sonic asked.</p><p>Blue turned and looked at him. Without opening her mouth, she replied. <em> Can you hear me? </em> she asked.</p><p>Sonic frowned. “How long have you been able to hear that?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, just now,” Blue said. “My grasp on the Hivemind isn’t strong, but neither is yours,” she said. “Sometimes you’re unguarded, like you were just now.” Her eyes went wide for a moment and she ducked under the blanket. “Oh no, he’s found me!”</p><p>Sonic turned where she was looking, but spotted nothing from the window. “Relax, he’s… your dad is just messing with your mind. He did the same thing to me earlier, but he can’t tell me what to do.”</p><p>Blue frowned. “But he can tell me and I’m forced to obey,” she said.</p><p>“You’re not forced to do anything, not here,” Sonic said. “Not while I’m watching you. I promise.”</p><p>Blue nodded slowly. “Okay…” Her whimper made Sonic shudder. She was really <em> that </em>afraid of Dire Doom. “Can I… can I have more of those sugar discs?” she asked.</p><p>“Cookies? Yeah, lemme go get some for you,” he said.</p><p>As he went into the kitchen and piled cookies into his open hand, he heard a soft skittering from the couch, followed by an exhale. Once, twice, three times… more and more as he registered the unmistakable sound of the alien falling asleep.</p><p>As he rounded the couch, Tails came out from the hallway. “How do I look?” she asked quietly.</p><p>“Perfect,” Sonic replied. “At least ten times more comfortable than I ever was in it.”</p><p>“Yeah, this is nice,” Tails said.</p><p>“Why are you wearing running shorts underneath though?”</p><p>“They’re comfy,” she replied. “Plus I’m a little self-conscious.”</p><p>“Fair,” Sonic said. “Looks like Blue’s asleep.”</p><p>Tails grinned. “I heard some of those big-boy words Shadow was talking about,” the fox said. “Good job, you’re getting there.”</p><p>The two of them didn’t even realize that the water had turned off as Shadow exited the shower. There was a bandage on his left thigh as he washed his quills dry. “How many people in my life are going to turn out to be trans?” he asked. “First the cat twins, then Tails, then Sonic?”</p><p>“Hey,” Sonic said, trying to keep his voice down. “I wasn’t exactly comfortable explaining it to you, either.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “I’m teasing,” he said. “Well, partly, I’m still impressed. Five years is a long time to keep something like that from being talked about.”</p><p>Sonic rolled his eyes. “I don’t need your remarks.”</p><p>Tails chuckled and brushed at her skirt. “And despite this knowledge, you two still act like angsty teens,” she said. “Shadow, be nice to him about it- he’s worked hard for it.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shadow said. “I get that you needed to break the news to me before things got too invasive, but…” he paused. “Why did you have to shove a needle in your- my- leg? Couldn’t that have waited?”</p><p>“I have <em> zero </em>idea how long we’re gonna be like this, so I didn’t wanna take any chances. Today is the day anyways. You don’t wanna miss a dose- I get like you when I do.” Sonic grinned. “We gotta get some sleep. When did you need to be at Syll’s office?”</p><p>“Eleven,” Shadow replied. </p><p>“Then I’ll wake you two at nine, you’ll have at least <em> some </em> sleep.” Tails said. “Are you going to go to your room, Sonic?”</p><p>“I’ll be in the chair. Shadow?” he asked.</p><p>“The couch, I need to make sure she doesn’t scamper off again,” he said.</p><p>Sonic turned back to his best friend. “You can take my room if you want.”</p><p>Tails smiled and turned around. “Goodnight, boys. Don’t get too lost finding Akshi.”</p><p>Shadow nodded as she left and turned to Sonic. “I can’t believe we are about to do this.”</p><p>“Me neither,” Sonic said. </p><p>“It’s ‘neither can I’,” Shadow corrected. </p><p>“Save the lessons for when we get there.” Sonic stood up and settled in the chair. “I bet I can fall asleep faster.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “You wanna bet?”</p><p>Sonic kicked back. “Well, you better hurry up, I’ve already got my eyes shut.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The lampshading at the end of the chapter is another suggestion from GaySarahK, as is the reference to racing to see who can get to sleep. I love the additions, they're fun.</p><p>Forgive me for the lateness on the chapter, I've been dealing with the job hunt and it's finally paying off. Wish me luck! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A Deer in the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rouge learns the truth of what Akshi meant, and Shadow begins to recognize what sort of issues he has.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Akshi looked over the city. The lights seemed to flicker on and off as gently as summer fireflies as Rouge busied herself in the living room. It seemed something had happened there but he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. There were scuffs on the floor near what he figured out a little too late was a heating unit. He sucked at his finger, remembering the blistering pain that struck his digit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This place looks amazing,” Akshi said. “It looks like the city goes on forever from up here,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve memorized a lot more of the city from this high up,” the bat replied. “I just don’t have a good map from the streets.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nine square miles, you said, right?” Akshi asked. “That’s three miles wide and three miles long. That’s still a lot,” he said. “Do you memorize every building as well?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mostly the outsides,” she said. “A good chunk of the buildings are residential, so I have no reason to remember the insides. I could probably open a random room on this high rise and find nothing at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, that makes sense,” Akshi said. “Can’t really memorize something you’ve never seen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even so, do you think my mind would leave it blank, or do you think it would try to make something up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you can get this level of detail, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could build spaces,” Akshi said. “You never cease to amaze me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge blushed. “Listen, you’re clearly trying to butter me up, but…” she paused. “I can’t really reciprocate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi frowned. “What were you yelling at me for?” he asked. “Is that why you’re upset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge looked away, and her face turned a bit more bitter. “You… you lied to me,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, um… how?” Akshi asked. “I get that you’re mad about something, and that something involves me for </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> reason, but I’m not sure how--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You told me love,” she said. “You told me the answer was love.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unconditional love,” he said. “Where is the lie in that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge glowered at him. “I tried to show Shadow that I loved him, I…” Her hands shook a bit. “I kissed him to prove it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Akshi said. He tried his best to hide the pang of guilt he felt. “So you… you thought that was what I meant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>could it mean?” she asked. She sat down indignantly on the couch. “All I know now is that nobody loves me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s…” Akshi’s voice petered out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge frowned. “What were you about to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That it isn’t true,” Akshi muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge’s anger flared up and she tossed a pillow at him. “Like hell it isn’t true!” she shouted. “He just left me to sit there and think about what I’d done, left me alone with all of these terrible thoughts, left me alone to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi could feel a strange shake in his body, and he realized what was going on. He swallowed. “Rouge, stop,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t I just be mad? Everyone is telling me to stop feeling bad. Well, I feel bad, and I should feel bad! I don’t wanna lie to everybody else about how I feel and--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi began to visibly vibrate. “Rouge, please stop, this isn’t funny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it isn’t funny! I mean, why would he just leave like that? Is there.. Is there something wrong with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi shouted. “Rouge, I’m going to shatter like this!” Rouge paused, and Akshi immediately collapsed to all fours. He panted loud and his eyes were wide. “Rouge… please…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m an empath, I can literally feel the intensity of your emotional state,” he said. “And your emotions are so intense that I wasn’t mentally prepared.” He looked her in the eyes. “If the strain of it gets too intense, I’ll shatter from the sheer weight of your panic. It’s why I can sync with Knuckles in the first place.” He looked at the pillow, where a teal stain caught his attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry, I…” she paused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi felt another shake. “Don’t hold it in,” he said. “That’s worse for both of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what am I supposed to do?” she said. “I can’t exactly moderate this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First, take a deep breath,” Akshi said. “I need you to focus your attention on something other than the dread.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge nodded slowly and did that. “Now what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go get a wipe, I need it,” he said. “Don’t ask questions yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge got up and went to the bathroom to retrieve the requested item. It gave Akshi a moment to breathe. He wondered what he was doing here. She was clearly distraught by something much deeper than just Shadow’s lack of reciprocation, much deeper than the event that unfolded earlier that evening. He was afraid to get to the bottom of it, but now that she knew the stakes, there would at least be some control. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe there will be control…</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge returned from the bathroom. “Okay, I have the wipe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi gently took it in his hands. It was cold and wet, and his fingers played with it for a moment before he got back to the task at hand. The feeling had already settled down, but a dull tingle still persisted at the bottoms of his feet. “Okay,” he said, handing the wipe back to her. “I need you to remove your makeup.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tingle came back up, and he hissed at the intensity. “Rouge, I know you’re scared, but I’m not going to judge you, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody has seen--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t your friend say how nice your freckles were?” Akshi asked</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge tilted her head, and the feeling in Akshi’s core settled again. He burst into another round of heavy breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t hear anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You fell asleep but I still heard what he said. He told you that “you look better with freckles, if only you knew that”.” His eyes were pained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge nodded and carefully took the wipe before removing her makeup. The marshmallow- brown freckles danced across her face. “There, you happy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi nodded. “Muscovite,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You hide your freckles because you’re afraid of imperfections,” he said. “That’s a muscovite trait right there. I couldn’t see it last time,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge looked away. “More stupid talk from you,” she said. “I don’t understand any of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay,” Akshi said. “It’s okay to not know things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge frowned. “And now suddenly you’re using that knowledge to mock me?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not mocking, it’s showing basic respect for someone’s insecurities,” he replied. “You need a lot of help, Rouge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gee, thanks,” the bat replied. “Like I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>heard that before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi frowned. “I get it now, the insecurities, the stone symbolism… the unconditional love isn’t something you need from others. You need it from yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge crossed her arms. “And how am I supposed to do that?” she asked. “Everyone else doesn’t like me, why should </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>like me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because at the end of the day, you’re the only one you’re stuck with,” Akshi said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… why didn’t the kiss work? Why didn’t I feel anything?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re not in love with him. You don’t even like yourself- you don’t know what you want for yourself because you don’t care about what you want. Because you don’t care about you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> care about myself!” Rouge insisted. “I mean, I work hard to get everything I need to live, I buy myself nice things, I make sure that--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can buy a stranger something nice to make them feel better, but it doesn’t mean you love them. It means you feel sympathy for them- you see that they’re in a rut.” Akshi frowned. “You want to be loved so you feel like you do everything you can to make someone remember your face. The truth is that very few people will remember you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge’s shoulders dropped. “I don’t want to be forgotten. I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi clutched his chest, feeling the same tingle there again. “Rouge, you don’t want to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>abandoned</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You are upset about what happened because he left you to your devices when you were compromised. You’re upset because you’re afraid that it’ll be over. You’re upset because of something you fear from </span>
  <em>
    <span>anybody</span>
  </em>
  <span> you associate with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But how do I get better?” Rouge asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The same thing I said before- make joy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been trying, but nobody seems to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop externalizing your happiness!” Akshi said. “You can’t make joy for other people and </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>make joy for yourself. You’ll go crazy! Selflessness and sacrifice often have diminishing returns in the abscence of self worth, Rouge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I don’t know what makes me happy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about your gems?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes me satisfied, it makes me a little proud, but it isn’t all that I am!” she said. “I’m more than my heists!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Akshi said. “Then you understand that you’re more than just a thief- you’re a person. That’s step one- you realize that you’re a person, too. And just like anybody else, you have wants and needs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But my wants are--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t backpedal,” Akshi said. “You are a person and you have wants and needs as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But who’s gonna help me get those wants and needs fulfilled?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you are, obviously,” Akshi replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I don’t know how!” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then…” Akshi searched for the right words. “I’ll teach you. Not now, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge put her hands on her hips. “Not now? Why? We have plenty of time to spare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Akshi said. He pointed out towards the skyline, where the giant garnet sat motionless. “We have grander matters to discuss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Rouge said. She settled down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi examined the area surrounding the building it was perched atop. There was a sickly green gunk that covered at least two or three blocks worth of buildings in all directions, and the green mist made the entire complex appear poisoned. “We need to find Sonata again. If she’s real- and from what we talked about earlier, she probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>real- then I need to know how she’s still alive. She might be able to tell us how to kill that thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But isn’t she tied to the Garnet?” Rouge asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps, but there’s probably a way to get her tied to me instead.” Akshi swallowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself that’s true,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Akshi said. His words came off a little too harsh out of the sheer raw fear he felt though, and he watched as Rouge began to get teary eyed. “Oh geez, I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t gonna--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, stop…” he said. The prickling feeling returned. “Rouge, look at me- see the deer in the woods but don’t spook it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...What?” she asked. The bat was confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi felt the feeling die down once more. “Your emotions are like a deer in the woods,” he said. “You see them and your response is to react out of proportion with what you see. You need to see the deer, let it sit there and do what it needs to do, and watch it disappear as quickly as it came. Observe your emotions the same way- let them exist without yelling at them or throwing your arms up or whatever, then watch them fade away. However long it takes to fade away, just... watch it until it does. Your emotions are allowed to exist, but your response needs to be tempered so you don’t agitate them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge nodded slowly. “O-okay…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When all this is over,” he said. “I wanna teach you more. But this is not the time. We have work that needs to be done and we can’t be getting into therapy at this moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it really therapy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it’s helping you learn to be better for yourself, then yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge nodded. “Okay,” she said. “That goes on the backburner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi frowned. “What does that mean?” he asked</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge smirked. “You’re still not used to modern phrases, are you?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Afraid not, Knuckles isn’t exactly a city-dweller.” Akshi sighed. “Can you explain it to me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I’d be happy to,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi did his best to hide the joy he felt seeing the glimmer return to her eyes as she led him into the kitchen. He registered and made note of the words she said, but his eyes focused on her eyes the most. Somehow she hadn’t caught him staring, which was a miracle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you… wanna watch a movie? You’ve never seen one before, have you?” she said. “I’m not good at memorizing movies, though, so that won’t do…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi smiled as he recognized the streak of self-doubt and underselling she displayed, immediately knowing how to curb it. “Give it your best shot, I’m sure you could come up with something great. Besides, I’ve never seen a movie, so there’s no need to impress me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re that easy?” she said. “Yeah, maybe I should give it a go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi looked out towards the city and paused as the familiar ARK came back into the sky. He didn’t say anything, instead opting to let it be as his host was caught up in the moment of making popcorn and setting up the living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wondered if the two she’d spoken of would be looking for her now- one had recognized her earlier. Sonic was it? But that didn’t seem right either- the hedgehog’s face was one of acceptance up until the moment they’d been seen, at which point it had turned into shock- nobody was that calm with that many sirens around and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>already accustomed to such a nightmare. The expression in the blue one’s eyes didn’t match how he looked at all and the way he carried himself didn’t feel natural.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then, who was the other one?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge paused. “That’s weird,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Akshi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I turned on the television, I got a signal from somewhere else.” She clicked through with the remote. “And it looks like no matter where I go it’s the same channel. I’m not in control of it at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well what is it?” Akshi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See for yourself,” she said, pointing to the screen. Painted in light on its surface were a pair of familiar hedgehogs navigating their way through the city streets below.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Are we there yet?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you ask a more inane question?” Shadow said. “We just got here.” He paused as he watched Sonic walk. “You’re arching your back too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Sonic asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want to nail the look you need to loosen your posture,” he said. “You want to look noble, not pompous. Don’t act like you have a date with a marching band.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic stopped and crossed his arms. “Well, what about you? You’re trying to walk the way </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>walk! You can’t straighten up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, tell you what, for the first block ahead of us, I’ll try to imitate you, and you’ll watch. Then for the next one, you’ll imitate me,” Shadow said. “Not that it’s that hard- you’ve always been an imitation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic slugged him in the shoulder. “Pssh! Sounds boring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow rolled his eyes. “What if…” he thought for a moment. “Oh, look at me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Sonic, I like to hang around with my friends and definitely don’t feel like an idiot when I screw up a party!” Shadow sharply mocked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic fumed. “Oh, and I’m Shadow, I don’t like fun in any way, shape or form.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow chuckled. “Oh, that’s the stare, right there. Oh, and your back is at </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> the right angle, too. See, it isn’t that hard.” He slapped Sonic on the back and walked ahead, straightening up a bit as requested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic glanced up and down. “How do I look like you?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Simple- don’t arch your back quite as much, only lower your head when you’re lost in thought, and… well, when you look people in the face, think ‘murder’.” Shadow adjusted the rings around his wrists. “As for me, what do you think about the walk?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your walk is fine, it’s the talk that needs work,” he said. “You’re too… gloomy for the body you wear, you know? Well, the one you have now- black and red is a good color scheme for someone so moody.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gee, thanks,” Shadow said. “It isn’t like I was born with it or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic thought about what Blue had said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Black Arms temperament</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s no way that he was born with any trace of this, and if he were…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic?” Shadow asked. “Are you listening?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry,” he said. “I got caught up about something.” He brushed off his leg for effect. “I think you’re missing the fun behind it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fun? Sonic, this isn’t any time for games,” Shadow said. “We can’t be having playtime when there’s a giant gem floating--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic slugged him in the shoulder. “Come on, Shadz, we have the rest of the night, why don’t we make a game out of it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “I don’t want to play a game right now,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not even the “let’s find Rouge” game?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to find Rouge. I plan on marching us around the same three blocks for the next four hours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Won’t we wake up?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care. And it doesn’t matter- I don’t want to find Rouge.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Shadow, you said Akshi was with her. It makes sense she’d be with him,” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stopped dead, and Sonic bumped into him. “You don’t get it do you?” he said. “You’d never get it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this about the kiss?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She…” Shadow clenched his fists. “It wasn’t okay. She just thought that she could…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic gripped his shoulder. “Buddy, what’s the matter with ya? It’s just a—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!” Shadow shouted. He stamped his foot against the ground, and the pavement cracked below him. “Just… shut up and don’t say anything! She just threw herself onto me like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Like Amy?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow paused. “Why did she have to be so desperate?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic sighed. “She asked herself the same thing, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow held his arms close to him and bit his lip. He dug his fingers into his arms. His breath became slightly more labored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know much about girls, Shadow- I’ve never really had an interest in dating or anything, but even though she does crazy things, I still love Amy like a friend. Like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really good friend.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sonic paused, watching as a blank car passed them in the street. “I just keep rejecting her advances because we wouldn’t be good together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is… is that what she thinks I did?” he asked. “Is that what I did?” Shadow thought aloud. He hated having to admit his faults. He hated having to admit that he was wrong. But most of all, he hated that he might have hurt his best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if by magic, Sonic seemed to pick up on that thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you hate her?” Sonic asked. “She... wanted to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I don’t hate her! I--” He caught himself. “I..." He forced himself to say the words, even if they were easier than what he actually wanted to say. "I... care about her. I care about her... <em>so</em> much. When she was locked in the vault, she was going to die. And while I didn’t know what came over me, I figured she was an innocent woman trying to do her job. And then she saved me from stasis, and she helped me remember my past, and… and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic reached his hand to put on the other hedgehog’s shoulder, but hesitated before letting it fall to his side. “Seems you’re like me- you just don’t like Rouge like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… shouldn’t I? I mean after all she’s done… surely I should be grateful by—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not love, that’s…” he momentarily paused. “I think the best word is “obligation”. You feel you owe it to her to return the gesture. But you don’t owe anyone anything if you don’t feel the same way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “I don’t want to hurt her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How would you be hurting her?” Sonic asked. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I don’t reciprocate, her feelings will be unrequited, and that’ll—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, she realized almost immediately that she didn’t feel that way either,” Sonic said. “You’re getting worked up over something that you two could just </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk </span>
  </em>
  <span>about and it would be fixed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow began walking forward. “It’s not just that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic tilted his head. “Oh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I was sleeping, I saw… </span>
  <em>
    <span>her...</span>
  </em>
  <span> again. But something was off. She was… she had the same marking I do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic knew who he was referring to. “What? Like the red markings?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no.” Shadow pulled up the white glove on his left wrist, where the number 554 sat in black. “I’ve been counting how many times I have the same dream,” he explained, showing the number. “Last time was the 554th. Everything seemed fine, but then she started panicking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you were on the ARK, right? Plenty of reason to panic,” the other hedgehog replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wasn’t panicking because of the sirens, idiot,” Shadow said. “She was panicking for a different reason.” He tapped his wrist. “She had a number in the thousands on her wrist. If she’s having the same dream over and over too, then it’s logical that…” he trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned slightly. “Shadow, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s probably all alone up there, wandering around for decades, fighting off disease and starvation however she can…” His fists clenched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, you had no way to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could have looked…” he muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were convinced she was gone,” Sonic said. “And that place is too big for one ‘hog to cover!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe for you. I would have managed,” Shadow bitterly spat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Would I?</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. “Well she’s alive now, and now you know, so what are you going to do?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow didn’t swat Sonic’s hand away but rather simply walked forward a bit to remove it. “I’m gonna find her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>We </span>
  </em>
  <span>are gonna find her,” Sonic said. “I wanna see you smile too, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow breathed out and nodded, knowing he wasn't going to convince the teen otherwise. “Yeah.” He looked up and pointed to a large and imposing building. “Rouge has a penthouse up there, let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic watched as Shadow carefully crossed the street. His posture had gone back to where he was comfortable, and it was that moment that Sonic began to imitate his look. He took a step out into the road when the cars were caught at the light and called to Shadow, who turned around upon reaching the sidewalk. “Shadow, how’s this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow chuckled. “Well, you’re getting there, I suppose,” he said. “Better than your last attempt at least.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic wanted to take offense, but spotted the slight upturn of Shadow’s lip and kept quiet. One wrong word and it’d vanish like a deer in the woods. “I’m glad you think so. Do you think Rouge will be able to recognize the switch?” he asked as he reached the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I still have my inhibitors on,” Shadow said. “They’re loose but they’re on. And our eyes are the proper color, if yours are anything to go by. Wow, those </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t look right on my body…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, red and green kinda clash,” Sonic said. “I get it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever the case may be, the elevator awaits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two of them rushed inside, it still seemed as though Shadow had some thoughts racing through his head. It was clear that his concern for his formerly-late friend was building, but even though he wanted to bolt and go back to the ARK that now hung in the sky like a menacing parade float, he needed to tackle such matters one at a time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic, on the other hand, was wondering how he was going to help Shadow. If his friend was alive like he said, he meant it well that he wanted to see that smile. Perhaps it was a morbid curiosity, or maybe even a strange selfishness to see satisfaction in others, but Sonic wanted to see the once-black hedgehog give a genuine grin prompted only by his emotions and the reunion that would cause those feelings to bloom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow opened the elevator and rang up the proper floor. “Now all we do is wait,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow,” Sonic asked, watching the doors shut. “Are you okay now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow paused, looking around the floor as he searched for an answer. “Not yet, but hopefully I will be soon. Why do you care?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because that’s what friends do,” he said. “I know you don’t always think of me as a friend, but I think of you as a friend even if we butt heads a lot. I wouldn’t want to hang around you like this if I didn’t care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smirked a little and closed his eyes. “You have more faith in me than I have in anyone else,” he said. “For as much as I’m better than you at everything else, your youthful sense of forgiveness is…” He paused. “It’s something I will admit to envying every now and again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, Shadz,” Sonic replied. “But you saying you’re better than me at </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>? That’s a huge overstatement.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When we get back to normal,” Shadow said. “I’d like you to try to prove me wrong. You won’t, but your attempts are amusing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re on, Shaddy boy,” Sonic said. “Get ready to eat dust for a month when I’m through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can barely put up with “Shadz”... that was a terrible nickname,” he said. “Don’t say that one ever again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic still saw the edge of Shadow’s lip trying not to smile. It was as though Shadow was trying hard not to show that expression to him in particular.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Shadow?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I... am an enchanter,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic looked him dead in the eye. “There are some who call me… Tim.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow felt a rumble in his chest and bent over slightly, trying to hold in the strange feeling in front of Sonic. His rival was already letting his laughter slip, and the sound of his own voice belting out a strong laugh sent Shadow over the edge. He clenched his teeth and his eyes as he wheezed out a quiet laugh that built slowly over each moment. “I-Is that what it sounds like when I laugh?” he asked. “I… I haven’t heard that in a while…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic grinned. “It was funny the first time I heard it, Rouge said you’d never laughed in front of her before but that part always got you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t remember his line, that’s why it’s funny. The actor </span>
  <em>
    <span>genuinely </span>
  </em>
  <span>forgot his line!” Shadow wiped his eye line. “But the best is that your- my- laugh… that’s so contagious! I never thought…” He looked at Sonic and carefully composed himself, settling into a neutral expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You needed that, didn’t you?” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Shadow said. His voice was slightly softer. “I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Shadz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors slid open and Rouge hugged Shadow, who froze up a bit in her grasp. “I’m sorry, if you want me to stop then I’ll let go but… I’m sorry for what happened. I made a huge mistake and you don’t have to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rouge, it’s fine, I think we both learned something.” Shadow frowned. “Your grip is really tight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” She let go of him. “Y-yeah,” she said, stepping back as the two exited the elevator. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were greeted by a tall bird who was leaning against the wall. He gave the two of them a sly smirk as he pushed himself upright. “Interesting,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic looked the bird up and down. “You’re Akshi then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Did Rouge tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Tails did,” Sonic said. “You’re… really tall…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in my twenties, or at least I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>when I was broken. I had more time to grow. But I’m more intrigued by you two…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked to Rouge. “So he traded places to save you?” he wondered aloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bat nodded. “I still don’t understand why, I had just met him.” She paused. “Well, I met who he </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>was.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’ve “met” the Emerald more times than any agent I’ve ever seen you with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say, Knuckles is guarding a beautiful specimen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “Rouge, I’m sorry I ran away. You left me with some really confusing feelings. But--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I watched on the television,” Rouge said. “I heard what you said, the transmission couldn’t change to anything else. It wouldn’t turn off, either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow furrowed. “So is that why you hugged me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… you don’t hate me for--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t listen to Sonic enough- he said exactly what I told him. I’m sorry for doing something you didn’t want. I was desperate, but that’s no excuse. I…” She looked to Akshi. “I know that I need help, and hopefully I’ll have a security net of friends to keep me steady.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked around before putting his hand on her shoulder. “Then hopefully I can be one of those friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You always were, and that never changed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi turned his attention to Shadow. “We should head back into the apartment,” he said. “This isn’t the best place for introductions.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, I thank GaySarahK for the input and if you haven't yet you should go look at her work. She's nearly at 20K words and she deserves all the kudos. She's helped me a lot over the past few months, essentially acting as a beta reader and the person who gets the first peek as a result. But she's more than a beta reader- she's a VERY good writer. Her work is here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaySarahK</p><p>And yes, the "troupe from Spagonia" was this universe's Monty Python. Sonic and Rouge watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail earlier.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Never There</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow and Akshi make a plan to search for the loved ones they've recently discovered aren't dead. Meanwhile, Blue returns to the hovel and pays the price for it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bastette rang the doorbell. The steam from the coffee in her hand hung high on the air of the early October morning, and her eyes still had sleep along their edges, and as she rubbed it away, her friend responded by cracking open the door. The clink of the deadbolt chain quietly punctured the silent air around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh good, it’s you,” Tails said. She closed the door and undid the deadbolt before inviting her in. “I’m glad you’re here,” she quietly greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette gently walked inside and looked at the two sleeping hedgehogs who were lying on the couch and chair. “Where is the little girl?” she asked, noticing the empty blanket sitting beside Shadow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m here!” Blue said, just a little too loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic stirred but didn’t wake as Tails shushed the little alien. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t shout right now, they need to sleep,” the fox said. “How is your milk?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It tastes weird but that’s okay,” Blue said, lowering her voice. “I don’t like it much, do you have anything else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails paused. She was curious as to how Blue would react to the choices in the cooler. She remembered that she’d spoken in her sleep, spoken a single word that struck her as odd since, as far as she knew, only would have been known if Shadow had expressly introduced himself as such. A weird nagging feeling in her gut seemed to linger that he wouldn’t have done such a thing, especially to a Black Arms soldier who might be out to kill him. After all, he was more vulnerable and capable of dying now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She circled around to the cooler and pulled out three cans- Chaos Cola, its diet variant, and a can of strawberry lemonade, a drink that Tails had found out from her time handling Shadow panic attacks he liked very much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, here are some options. A few of them have caffeine so I don’t know how healthy they are, but--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue immediately took the lemonade. “This one looks cute, it’s pink,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “It’s lemonade. It’s a little sour, but it has some sweet in it as well. There’s a lot of sugar in it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooo…” Blue said, entranced by the notion of more sugar. For a moment, she tried to bite open the can, but Tails frowned and grabbed the can before opening the tab. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t bite into the can, it’ll be sharp,” she said. “And the drink’ll spray you in the face.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue puffed her cheeks. “I already knew that!” she said, crossing her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you really didn’t,” Tails said, calling her bluff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed and took out the clothes. “So, I got this little dress. Well, it’s more like a striped shirt and an overall dress. It isn’t too much. Oh, and I brought some sandals and gloves too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes,” Tails said. She examined the gloves and the shirt in particular. “I’ll have to tailor it a bit since she has wings and… well, only </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>fingers on each hand, but otherwise I think it’s just what she needs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shivered. “Can I have the blanket?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails ran to the couch and pulled the blanket from beside Shadow before returning. She tossed it over Blue’s shoulders as the alien gingerly took the can and began to sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, I’ll take them,” Tails said. “I keep a pocket sewing kit on me for fixes like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette looked at her. “You really are prepared for anything, aren’t you?” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say, thinking ahead is my strong suit. Besides, my friends usually leap before they look, someone’s gotta balance that out.” She went to grab her kit and go to work on the clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette looked at Blue. “Are you enjoying the lemonade?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It tastes really nice, it makes me feel... happy,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good!” Bastette replied halfheartedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It reminds me of home,” she said. “I don’t know why since the Comet never had this to drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, things you’ve never had to drink or eat can still remind you of places,” Bastette said. “Maybe there was a smell that was similar there, or maybe the drink reminds you of a color or the words someone said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t remember much from the Comet, and I remember even less from my past life,” Blue said. “It’s… confusing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A past life, huh?” she said. She was hesitant to move closer- Blue was a Black Arms, a being whose race was responsible for orphaning her and her siblings and leaving her twin sister unable to use her legs. Even so, that wasn’t this little girl’s fault- she wasn’t the one who did that, or at least Bastette didn’t think she could have been. Even so, she was wary- Black Arms persons were by the nature of the impact on her memory a group she couldn’t quite trust. Even getting the clothes was pushing beyond her limits, but she knew she’d never hear the end of it from Tails otherwise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Black Arms don’t need to reproduce all their learning the way terrestrial lifeforms do- our consciousness is recycled so we don’t need to waste time on training. But my memory is near-nonexistent.” She took another sip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you reincarnate, so to speak,” Bastette said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t lose our memories, so if you’re describing something spiritual, then,” Blue said, “that isn’t correct. Black Arms are supposed to have their old memories. Death isn’t the end, and rebirth is simply a continuation of where they left off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it’s odd that you don’t have memories of the past because Black Arms are </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to have them?” Bastette asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue’s wings skittered a bit beneath the blanket as she adjusted their position. “Yes, Father said that I was damaged because of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s a horrible thing to say to a child,” the cat replied. “I would never tell my little sister that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I am defective, objectively,” Blue said. “I don’t see the problem with telling it like it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No matter how true or untrue something is, you shouldn’t say that to a child,” Bastette said. “If I find that dad of yours, I’ll make sure to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t hurt Father, he’s just trying to get the Comet back,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You realize that he’ll use everyone here for livestock right?” Bastette said, beginning to shake. Her anger was getting the better of her. “That includes me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father was hurt by a Black Arms weapon he made more than half a century ago. His fight with it damaged his body to the point that he had to relocate. The relocation was to a pod that was protected from the blast that destroyed our home. Afterwards, a small team of us were left and now…” She paused. “Oh, no.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Retro has already reached the hidden stash by now. I’m sure of it!” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette furrowed her brows. “Retro?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Retrograde,” Blue clarified. “He’s my brother in arms, and he’s likely gathering as many Emeralds as he can for Father to make a strike.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette’s eyes widened, and she nervously asked Blue for clarification. “What… would he be striking with, exactly?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s simple,” Blue said. “Your Eclipse Cannon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cat’s stomach dropped. Her words became faster and more wispy as her tone began to show a genuine kernel of panic. “How many?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many Emeralds,” Bastette asked. “How many does he have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue counted with the fingers on both her hands after setting the can down. “Five. It’s only enough to level a city, perhaps the surrounding area. The others are being searched for,” she said. “We’ve had no luck. But once they’re found, they’ll be going to the space colony in the sky to tear the planet to shreds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette frowned. “We have to stop him. Tails!” she called. “Tails, this is bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails ran back into the other room. “I have it done, what’s wrong?” she asked. She held the tailored clothes in her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked away, and Bastette wrung her hands nervously as her lips parted. “She said that the Eclipse Cannon is where her sibling is headed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails dropped the clothes in shock. “We can’t let that happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No kidding,” the cat replied. “But what do we do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Tails said. “How many are they planning to get?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All seven,” Blue said. “They already have five.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about the one you had?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was one of the five.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well where are they?” Tails asked, scooping up the clothes and placing them on the counter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was a panel in the cave that I hid four of them under,” Blue began. “But Retro might have gotten to them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette frowned. “Do you know that for sure? What if you’re psyching yourself out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails shook her head and offered the alien the clothes. “Bastette, stop that, you’re going to confuse her,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no,” Blue said. “She… she has a point.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you reckon?” Tails asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Blue began, “I’ve been-- Augh!” she shouted, toppling to the floor as her eyes locked to the window in the living room. “Look out the window, he’s there again!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails and Bastette turned. There was still nothing to be seen but the treeline cloaked in the slightest shade of dawn. The fox furrowed her brow. “Why do you keep doing that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear, I saw Father watching me from out there, he’s following me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s literally no way he would possibly be able to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shook. “I’m scared,” she said. She reached for the shirt that hung from the counter but stopped an inch from the fabric. “He won’t leave me alone…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed and bit her lip as she moved and picked up the alien. She gently put her on the chair and began scrunching up the blouse’s arms. “Here,” she said. “Don’t… don’t get any ideas. I’m doing this because you’re scared, that’s all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked her up and down before slowly nodding. “O-Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Bastette helped Blue with the clothes, Tails began pondering their next move. “Okay,” she said. “I think I know what we need to do. Blue, how easily do you think you could get us back to the hovel?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… you wanna go back there?” she asked. “Father is back there, he’ll make mincemeat of you both.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know about that,” Tails said. “We’re not ordinary citizens, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your hubris will be your death,” Blue assured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette rolled her eyes. “Well, if you don’t help us, then we’ll be taken off guard. But if you insist, then we won’t make you come with,” she said. “Tails, you still have the Miles Electric, right? That thing should be able to trace the Emeralds’ signatures.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it should,” the fox replied. She gave the cat a smirk. “I guess we won’t need your help after all,” she said. “You can stay and rest for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no!” Blue said, wrestling her way out of Bastette’s grip as she finished getting dressed. She toppled onto the floor again. “I don’t want him to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails adjusted the bracelet before activating its mechanism. “He’s not gonna hurt us, and even if he were, he’s not gonna be doing that for long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue stamped her foot. “I’m coming with, I don’t want you to die. Maybe I can reason with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails frowned. “Blue, we wanted you to come, but what you just said is seriously messed up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue’s eyes narrowed. “I’m coming, I’m not letting you go alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette frowned. “And how exactly are you going to fight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue rolled her eyes and shot a glob of flaming plasma against the floor. “I’ve got firepower,” she said. “Is that ‘useful’ enough for you?” Her voice was surprisingly sharp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails frowned. “‘Tette, she’s made her case. Before we go, get the extinguisher form under the sink.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“So that’s what the Garnet did to you two then,” Akshi said. “You’ve been swapped. Well, in more ways than one. Are your eyes normally that color?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In here they’re right, out there, it’s completely wrong!” Sonic said. “And it looks really weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from…” The bird seemed oddly entranced by Shadow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Shadow spoke. “Can I help you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi nodded slowly. “I’m just making sure of something. Could you… open your mouth for a moment?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s lip curled and he backed away a little bit, and the bird grinned in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, well, that’s a mystery solved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rouge, what is he doing?” Shadow asked. “Is he always this unsettling?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty much,” Rouge said, shrugging. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi turned to face her. “You didn’t seem to be too bothered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re strange on your own, I just have the tact to entertain you,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you two aren’t gonna fool anybody in here, but out there you at least have a chance,” he said. “I mean, your stones are different.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “Excuse me?” he asked. He sounded offended, a sound in Shadow’s voice that felt unnatural to him but perfectly fine to everyone else. “Who told you about--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant, Sonic,” Akshi explained. “That pun was completely unintentional, I swear…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic crossed his arms. Shadow cracked a smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What I mean,” the bird continued, “is that if you were transformed like Rouge was a few weeks ago, you would show </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> different stones.” He looked at Sonic. “You’re optimistic and eternally sunny, that wouldn’t work for Shadow at all. But your stone, Sunstone, has associates that indicate that you’re… flighty and impulsive. You’re prone to boredom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic squirmed. “That’s a blunt way of putting it,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could put it blunter, if you want,” the bird replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No thanks,” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow snickered. “You hit the nail on the head with him,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and you’ve tried not to be an open book,” Akshi said. “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news… oh, wait, no I’m don’t…” he muttered as he turned back to face Shadow. “Whether you want to or not, your heart is on your sleeve with me.” He paused as he rubbed at his forehead. “Ugh, could you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>remove those?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, these?” Shadow asked, pointing to the bangles hanging loosely around his wrists. “I can’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You obviously can,” Akshi replied. “So why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow squirmed as he gripped the inhibitor rings as if to cradle them. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>remove them,” he clarified. “My power is untamed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then… tame it?” Akshi said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not how any of that works,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>how it works,” he said. “Rouge, have you seen him with them off?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, when he was putting the ARK back into space. He’s right though, that energy is unchecked without the inhibitors. G.U.N. has put those powers through the wringer.” Rouge handed Sonic the bowl of half-warm popcorn. “Sorry, you were a bit late to the party.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m still hungry, it’s fine,” he said, popping a piece in his mouth. “This is kinda entertaining.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shut your mouth,” Shadow said, giving him a dirty look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, all I’m saying is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one wearing your rings right now, you should be just fine removing them.” Sonic raised an eyebrow. “Unless there’s something you’re afraid of.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned and unlocked both of the inhibitors and let them clatter to the floor. “There, are you two jerks happy with yourselves?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finally,” Akshi said. “Now it’s easier to read you.” He gently picked up one of the rings and hissed, immediately drawing his hand back as though he’d touched a hot stove. The ring clinked on the floor again. “Yikes, you weren’t kidding. Those… those </span>
  <em>
    <span>sap energy from you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but it’s the only way I can keep it all in,” he said. “Speaking of which… you might wanna step back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi swallowed as a slight gold glow began dancing across Shadow’s fur. He bit his lip and leaned forward, carefully whispering something before locking eyes with Shadow. The hedgehog frowned and stepped back, and the glow began to disappear. “What is… what did you do to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, it’s temporary,” Akshi said. “I neutralized you, just like I do with the Emeralds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked down at his hands. He felt… heavy. Heavier than ever before. No, that wasn’t right either- he was as heavy as he was when he made the switch. “I don’t understand,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, to put it more succinctly,” the bird said, “you’re now officially at the same Chaos Energy level as a normal hedgehog.” He smirked. “It’s heavier than you thought, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I remember this from being awake, but… ugh, how much are you going to mess with my head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not much more,” Akshi said. “Now, about what I can glean from you… you’re a noble type, an Alexandrite. A noble stone for certain, but… hmmm…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow backed up a bit more. “What are you getting at?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When was the last time you felt joy?” Akshi asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question seemed ridiculous to Shadow. He’d felt joy when Rouge was alright, he’d felt joy when he realized how wrong he was about Maria, he felt joy when… when…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>When was the last time I felt joy? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he asked himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, you’re getting tense,” Akshi said. “Your feelings aren’t as intense as Rouge’s but you’re still… hmmm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow wondered if he could have a panic attack in a dream. He’d never had one in a dream, and if he had one previously, he didn’t remember it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perhaps a journal wouldn’t be amiss,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, what am I thinking? That’s a horrible idea.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge grabbed Akshi’s wrist. “You’re freaking him out,” she said. “He has anxiety.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow snapped back to the rest of them and shuddered. “A noble stone, you said?” he replied, trying to steer the topic away from the question before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Akshi said. “Alexandrite, with Seraphinite association. You have difficulty experiencing joy, and your eyes don’t know the meaning of peace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fatalistic, aren’t we?” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm… you’re surprisingly resistant, prone to change moods on a dime… perhaps it’s a good thing,” he said. He stood up and walked over to the window, where the space colony floated low over the skyline. “You don’t have to tell me what happened on the ARK, but I have a good idea. Your face, and… that girl… it all spoke volumes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow bristled. “Don’t talk about things you have no idea about,” he warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can put two and two together, Shadow,” he said. “And I have an idea about it.” He put his hand against the cold glass. “And plenty of time to think about it, too. Eight-thousand years of mourning someone who I thought was dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>dead,” Shadow said. He clenched his fists, trying to justify those words. His mind flashed to the number on her wrist and her confused expression. “She… she has to be… right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “Um, what’s happening? This is turning into a soap opera.” He paused. “Oh no, I’m not going to play the love interest if that’s what’s happening.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge shook her head. “Shadow,” she said. “Is… is Maria alive?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow glanced at her, a look of genuine guilt seemed to take an arrow to her wits. “I don’t want to believe it…” he whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi waved the two others, trying to make it clear that he needed a moment alone. Rouge nodded and took Sonic into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked towards the window, silently looking out at the ARK. It seemed smaller than usual, but perhaps that was for the best. It was alright to see it from afar, even if it looked strange so close to the ground. The Cannon was practically touching one of the skyscrapers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you know where you wanna go, but you’re afraid to go there,” Akshi said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow remained silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I tell you a secret?” Akshi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow still remained silent, but produced a single nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared to go there, too.” Akshi turned and looked at him. “I saw my sister again, and I didn’t want to believe she was alive. And while her presence is faint, my instinct keeps leading me back to that craft there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was she like?” Shadow asked. His eyes remained fixed outside as he crossed his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She loved the autumn,” Akshi said. “Of all the Birds of our circle, she loved to collect leaves. The place where we lived didn’t have a lot of different trees, so she’d go around the world to find new ones.” He chuckled. “I still have a hard time saying her name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do I,” Shadow said. “I don’t know why, but even after fifty years, I still stumble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re further than me, at least,” Akshi said, chuckling. “I still can’t say Son… Sona…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t push yourself,” Shadow said. “You aren’t doing yourself any favors.” He looked at Akshi. “How do you mourn someone who never died?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The same way you do when they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>dead- quietly, if at all,” Akshi replied. “If you don’t want to go out there, that’s fine. You can wake up. But…” The bird swallowed his spit. “I’ll admit I’m afraid to go alone. I think I’d shatter if I went alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can be put back together,” Shadow replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By the time I am, the Garnet’s powers might be neutralized,” he said. “If I’m going to find her, it will have to be now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow thought for a moment, then nodded. “I want answers, too. If you and I have the same goal, then it’s in both of our interests to learn the truth.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Blue skittered down towards the hovel. “Father, I’m back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no sound from within, just the whisper of the wind howling across its entrance like breath across a bottle. There weren’t any tracks or broken twigs, and all the extra limbs she’d sprouted a few hours ago were still littering a small patch of grass nearby. “Father?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held up her hand as Tails and Bastette came closer, and she shook her head as if to tell them not to follow. She mouthed the words “one minute” before slowly clambering into the cave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father?” she called.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No answer. She delved deeper. The place was dark and quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing, still absolutely nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She carefully rooted around until her little hands came across the panel where the Emeralds were. She carefully flipped over the stone to reveal four of the five procured gems. “Wait, this isn’t right, shouldn’t Retro have--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” a cold voice whispered from behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t turn fast enough, and as her eyes focused, she realized she was looking at the empty cavern wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Blue,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned around again. Another blank wall. “Where are you, coward?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lurched forward and clutched her chest, screeching as she felt the pain her father used to exert control over her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said. “If you want to find me, you should follow Retro’s lead and go to the ARK.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why… why should I listen to you? You turned me loo-” She lurched as a black ooze pooled in her mouth and ran over, rendering her unable to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because, if you don’t, I’ll leave you like this- unable to breathe and desperately clinging to life,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t speak. She had too many racing questions. But none of them could be answered as her vision began to fade. She saw the feet of her friends silhouetted in the light of the early morning that was approaching outside the cave. But as she passed out, she failed to see something that the other two did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody was in the cavern except Blue.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow boards the ARK in the dreamscape, ready to find his best friend.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The smell of ether returned to her. Another day, another time around. Her thoughts were ragged and frantic for no reason she could find.</p><p>Carefully she rose from the bed and pressed her toes against the cold plating of the floor. Immediately, she drew her legs back up and paused before gingerly fishing her socks from her bedding. She was already off script. She looked down at her wrist.</p><p>The number from before hadn’t changed from the last time.</p><p>What was she doing last time?</p><p>She thought about it for a moment, remembering what little she could as though it were a dissociative episode or a walk in her sleep. Either way, she’d seen Shadow for a moment, then replaced by a strange blue hedgehog with a wide-eyed expression. As she struggled to get her socks on, she remembered the mark on his wrist.</p><p>“Five hundred and fifty four,” she said. “Why does he have a number? And who was he? He looked like Shadow for an instant, but--”</p><p>Her thoughts were cut short as an analog alarm clock rang and fell from the sterile nightstand beside her. She grimaced and stood up before bending over to pick it up. </p><p>Her ankle gave out beneath her on cue. Once- a very long time ago- she was surprised that such a detail was left within that day. The trouble walking, the trouble maintaining normal functions… it was all there, as usual, but different. She didn’t wake up with a sudden breathing spasm. She didn’t wake to her heart going too fast or too slow. She didn’t wake to the feeling of being unable to move.</p><p>And yet, she was still in this dream.</p><p><em> No, </em> she reminded herself. <em> This nightmare. </em></p><p>She grabbed the wristband on her nightstand and locked it around her wrist. It bore a watch and the strap was in bright orange neon that read “tumble-prone”. That phrase stung her eyes to even read, more than the gaudy color.</p><p>She blinked and focused, and in a moment, it changed to a lilac purple, something far easier to visually digest. She then stood back up carefully and stretched her legs. She could do this, she always did.</p><p>It was four in the morning when Maria Robotnik engaged in her daily routine, or at least what the Colony’s clocks declared was that time. She made a checklist on her white board once she made it over there. Marked in blue were the number of days without a seizure, in red were the days without risk of cardiac arrest. To her, it was a painful reminder that she was practically held together by toothpicks and empty promises.</p><p>To say she was disappointed that she’d woken to the dream again was an understatement. She’d been at this thousands of times, and each time was the same day. But she knew not why she was here. Was she in Hell? Was this her Hell?</p><p>No, Hell couldn’t have been anywhere near this pristine.</p><p>She checked the calendar next to the whiteboard. It was one of the last days of the month, and she noticed an unfilled circle next to the date. Her grandfather had taught her well that the circle meant it was a full moon for the people on Earth. Once, a long time ago, she would have been entranced by that information, excited to see it for herself once she was better and able to go to Earth.</p><p>She chuckled, remembering the smell of the dirt someone had brought from Earth for her to see, the feel of the blades of grass between her fingers as they were sifted from it, and the moisture it left on her fingers. It was a nice clean smell that didn’t have any trace of bleach or acetone, a smell that seemed so innocuous. But by her grandfather’s expression, she felt strange holding it as well.</p><p>She knew he’d only been worried about her getting more sick. It was an autoimmune disease, after all- her body wouldn’t be able to fight pathogens. Consequently she was raised in a bubble, and often handled with gloves, not to protect those in contact with her, but to protect her <em> from </em>such people.</p><p>She wanted to feel the callouses in her grandfather’s hands without him having to issue sanitizer. </p><p>She held her breath, recognizing that she was getting bent up about things that bore no consequence here.</p><p>She slipped on the bolero jacket to keep her shoulders warm as she slipped out of her room. As always, her clothes seemed to come with her, another feature of the recurring nightmare. She wandered slowly through the winding halls, swiping her bracelet against the locks on the doors to disable them. Faceless scientists in starch-colored lab coats seemed to turn a blind eye, but Maria already knew that their ignorance of her presence was due to nothing more than their mere existence as pawns in this feverish chess game of a dream.</p><p>She eventually made it to the kitchen, where she began doing exactly what she did that day- make angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries. It was what she did every time, and at this point she’d memorized it like a cruel mantra. “One and three-quarters of granulated sugar, spun in a food processor until superfine,” she gently spoke.</p><p>The recipe sounded like the world’s most boring bedtime story; easy, minimalistic, and as soon as you think it’s getting good, it’s over.</p><p>Moments seemed to pass in a blur before she was standing in front of the oven with the finished product in her hands. She was tempted to eat one- there were eight of them, Shadow was going to eat one, and she already knew she’d only get through two of them before the raid happened. </p><p>The raid. She felt at the left side of her chest, right between two bones on her ribcage. A sting shot through her for a moment, and she coughed. A red stain touched one of the cakes and dripped down the side like a thick glob of syrup.</p><p>Bitterly, she picked that cake up and bit ravenously into it. She didn’t care about being ladylike with her eating at this point- none of this was real anyway. Not the cakes, not the scientists, not even her own grandfather.</p><p><em> Not even Shadow, </em> she thought.</p><p>She sighed and began decorating the rest of the cakes, trying to get back on script. At least with a script of events, she felt safe and secure. She didn’t have to worry about what to say or how to say it. She’d just say what was supposed to, the pain would come, and then it was simply rinse and repeat. Forever.</p><p>As she dumped the strawberries onto each one of the cakes, she checked the time. Six-thirty. She’d been at this for two and a half hours, or at least the dream told her that. It was time to wake Shadow up.</p><p>She picked up the cakes and placed them on a plate before hurrying to his room. She had to be ready, if she weren’t there by the time the shower started, she’d be off script again. As she rounded the hall, a sick feeling overtook her, and she paused as her eyes locked on a visceral texture that stained the walls. </p><p>It was happening again. What she’d hallucinated for the two or three years she’d been given transfusions was infecting her dreams for another countless time. Slick tentacle-like appendages scraped against the mucus and slime of the mauve floor as she weaved her way carefully through them and reminded herself with a panicked thought stream that none of it was real.</p><p>One of the appendages grazed her foot, leaving her sock wet and smeared with something with a similar consistency to phlegm and a scent that reeked of something unplaceable but nonetheless gut-wrenching. She forced herself to sniff at the cakes a little closer just to be rid of the awful churn in her gut, and as she managed to round another corner, the strange sight disappeared. Her sock was dry again, and the air was so sterile it mocked her for believing there was any other smell.</p><p>She shook a bit before she composed herself in front of Shadow’s door. She listened carefully for the sound of the water. Once it started, she’d wait exactly five minutes and thirty-four seconds before knocking.</p><p>But the shower never came. She kept checking the time on her bracelet, but no matter how close it got to seven, her friend wouldn’t turn on the shower. “Shadow?” she called. “Are you--” she paused, trying to get back on script. “It’s me, are you awake?”</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>“Shadow?” she repeated. “Shadow, it’s me, are you awake?”</p><p>Still nothing. Her panic went into high gear as she fiddled with the bracelet against the door’s lock. Of all the rooms on the ARK, Shadow’s was the one she knew she had access to at all times. She slid open the door, hoping to see Shadow asleep in his bed, only to be met with a young bird around his height in a short robe who looked her up and down. Her head was wrapped with bandages like a blindfold, which covered her left eye. Her uncovered one was blue and was curiously staring at her.</p><p>Maria didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t yell- nobody could hear her. She looked around as the hallucinations from before spotted her from down the hall. “Oh, no,” she said.</p><p>The bird seemed to know what to do. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Maria’s free arm. “You’re safe in here.”</p><p>“But--”</p><p>“Trust me,” she said.</p><p>As Maria stumbled into the room, she looked around for a moment before the bird girl slammed the door and carefully spoke to herself. She turned her eyes to the human girl. “Do I have permission to do something to this door?”</p><p>“What?” Maria asked. “I don’t understand. Who are--”</p><p>A bang came from behind the door and the purple ooze seemed to be slowly leaking in through the sides. The bird held strong and did her best to keep it shut. “Can I seal the door shut or not?”</p><p>Maria panickedly nodded, not wanting to be engulfed by the thing that was outside the door. That was all it took, because as soon as she gave the word, the bird whispered another thing to herself before running her hand along the side. A streak of light followed her fingertips and seemed to weld the entrance shut.  </p><p>As the bird collapsed to the ground, Maria felt her breath getting heavy. “Who… who are you?” she asked, carefully placing the cakes on Shadow’s unoccupied bed.</p><p>The bird clutched her head. “Ugh, keep it down…” she groaned.</p><p>“Sorry,” the human said, lowering her voice. “I don’t understand what’s going on. You’re not supposed to be here, you aren’t part of this nightmare.”</p><p>The bird shakily stood and wobbled, and Maria grabbed her arms to steady her. “Thanks,” the bird said. “I was always terrible at Chaos Control.”</p><p>Maria paused. “You’re a user of that?” she asked. She briefly giggled at a memory of Shadow playing tag with her while using the technique. He ran right into a lab assistant with a thousand pages of records. She and Shadow were both grounded for a week, but since their rooms had access to the communications line, they kept each other up gossiping about what was happening in their part of the colony. </p><p>“Yes,” the bird replied. “My associates and I all are. Well… were? Sorry, it’s hard to tell how long it’s been. I’m stuck here.”</p><p>Maria nodded. “Me too. I didn’t think this was what it was like when you died but… I suppose it could be worse.”</p><p>“Died?” the bird said. “You aren’t dead, that much is clear. You wouldn’t be dreaming if you were dead,” she said.</p><p>Maria frowned. “I thought that too, but if I’m not dead, why can’t I wake up?” she asked.</p><p>The bird shrugged. “I dunno,” she said. She held out a hand. “Sorry, my name is Sonata.”</p><p>“Sonata,” Maria repeated. “It’s cute.”</p><p>“My elder brother named me,” she said. “He said he “sang a sonata of joy” when I was born. Isn’t that corny?” she asked.</p><p>Maria chuckled. “I suppose it is.” She frowned. “Where’s… where’s Shadow?” she asked.</p><p>“I don’t know, I saw someone run past me but I couldn’t catch him fast enough. Is he always that fast? And blue?”</p><p>“Well of course he’s… wait, blue? No, that couldn’t be Shadow,” Maria said. “Shadow’s black and red. Definitely not blue.” She groaned as her stomach swirled a bit. Why was that question so odd to her? I mean, the answer was clear as crystal, but something was off about it nonetheless.</p><p>Sonata sighed. “I’m sorry, I should have stopped him and asked. It’s just… I’m no good at using my powers.” She hit her fist softly against the wall. “I couldn’t even stop my brother from leaving.”</p><p>“Your… brother?” she asked. </p><p>“Well, yeah. He was here when the sirens were going off. It was maybe an hour ago. I found him and he didn’t even think I was real.”</p><p>Maria shook her head. “You’re not making any sense, Sonata,” she said. “I was in the kitchen an hour ago and there weren’t any sirens. The sirens aren’t even supposed to happen until later today.”</p><p>“Ah okay,” Sonata said. “Is this dream you’re having… recurring?” she asked.</p><p>“Well, yes,” Maria said. “I’ve been having this one more than eighteen thousand times.</p><p>“Then you probably had another one of these just a little bit ago.”</p><p>“What? But it feels like it happened yesterday,” she said.</p><p>“Yeah, well, that’s normally how sleep works,” Sonata said. “Um… may I… try one of those?” she asked, pointing to the cakes.</p><p>Maria thought for a moment, but then sighed. “Sure, go ahead,” she said. Her eyes were downcast. “Shadow isn’t here, so it’s just you and me who are eating.”</p><p>“Thanks!” Sonata said. “Oh, who are you, by the way?”</p><p>Maria was still wondering how she could possibly be alive. Perhaps she was on life-support? Perhaps she did survive and was old and had lost all of her memories when she was awake. Perhaps the formula had worked and she was immortal but comatose.</p><p>“Um, lady?” Sonata asked.</p><p>“O-oh, sorry,” Maria said, shaking her head to clear it. “My name is Maria. Maria Robotnik.”</p><p>“Hm… okay,” Sonata said, narrowing her eyes. </p><p>“What? Is it too much for you?” Maria pouted.</p><p>Sonata snickered. “I’m just teasing, you know. It’s a pretty name. Really noble.” She bit into her cake. “So, why are you here? And why are you looking for this… “Shadow”?” she asked.</p><p>“He’s my best friend, and…” She paused for a moment. “You said you saw someone blue here?” she said.</p><p>“Yeah,” Sonata said, taking another bite. “Why is that important?”</p><p>“If my memory serves, Shadow’s image was replaced with a blue hedgehog like him. It’s reasonable to assume my brain might have played tricks on me,” she said. “If that’s the case, then Shadow’s been having the same nightmare I have. What’s worse… I think we might have been having it simultaneously and neither of us knew.” Her eyes began to well. “He really thought I was gone, and now…”</p><p>Sonata frowned and pulled the blanket from the bed, offering it to help the girl dry her tears. “Easy there, you’re beating yourself up about this. Think rationally.”</p><p>Maria sobbed. “He’s probably so worried about me, I’ve worried him for so long, and…” She glanced down at the number before counting on her digits. “Oh, no, the Comet is probably back, he’s never going to--”</p><p>“I doubt you’d be dreaming if he didn’t find a way.” Sonata paused. “It’s gonna be alright, Miss Robotnik.”</p><p>Maria nodded and slowly collected herself. “I just hate to worry people,” she said. “Especially him. I mean, he probably doesn’t even realize I’m alive.”</p><p>Sonata continued to help her overcome the sobbing in front of her, rubbing the girl’s shoulder with her hand. She draped the blanket over her shoulders. “Here, let’s get you better first. Then we can go look for them.”</p><p>A bang sounded from beyond the walls of Shadow’s room. Maria’s head jerked in its general direction. Though she tried to remain calm, she couldn’t help but fear that whatever that hallucination mess was had now found an alternate route inside.</p><hr/><p>Shadow locked the inhibitors back on his wrists as the crew entered the ARK. The surroundings were wetter than Shadow remembered, and he grimaced as he spotted why. Like a living, pulsing tumor, the organic architecture of the Black Comet bled into the steel walls and ceiling and chrome panels of section Rho’s cargo bay. The matter seeped into an abandoned series of metal crates packed to the brim with space food and mechanical parts.</p><p>“Eugh, that’s nasty!” Sonic said, grimacing.</p><p>“Indeed,” Shadow said. “But it makes sense if she’s alive that it’s here- she had hallucinations of the Black Comet every time she was treated with my blood.” He paused. “She was treated the day the raid happened, so she’s probably trapped with the hallucinations as well. Though… it seems my own memory is assisting in this.” He walked over to the edge of a large pool of the matter on the floor and carefully pressed the edge of his shoe into it.</p><p>A stream of smoke hissed as his foot touched it, and the scent of rubber wafted to his nose. “Ugh, that’s what I figured.”</p><p>“What is it?” Akshi said, helping Rouge through the wreckage of their entry point. </p><p>“That’s acid,” he said. “The pit is too far for me to traverse.” He focused on the other side of the gap. “And the Blast we used to get in here… not as prudent with my energy as I’d like to be. I can’t get us over there, even if the gap is only 30 feet.”</p><p>“Taking too much damage <em> will </em>wake you,” Akshi said. He whispered to himself before a look of horror overcame his eyes. “Ugh, my powers are neutralized in here. This just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it?”</p><p>“I should be able to carry you across,” Rouge said. “It’s not a big issue, I’ll just have to go one at a time.” She glided over and grabbed Shadow’s arms. “Here.”</p><p>Shadow remained silent as she lifted him into the air. He hated having to rely on her for such trivial things. On one hand he was happy to see her again, but on the other, a weird feeling was still hanging over him like a shroud. He pushed the thoughts down and kept his mouth shut.</p><p>Or at least he did until he spied a tendril descending from the ceiling out of the corner of his eye. “Rouge, look out, it’s--”</p><p>Neither of them had time to think as something slammed into both of them from behind, throwing them across the gap faster and screeching in Akshi’s voice. Rouge looked at the bird as the tendril grazed his chest and hissed and, at the same time, she felt a prickle along her wings. Shadow frowned as he saw holes burned into them. </p><p>“Well, at least we’re over the gap,” Shadow said.</p><p>“Um, <em> you’re </em> over the gap,” Sonic said from the other side.</p><p>Rouge gingerly poked at her wings. “I can’t come back for you, my wings have holes in them…” She grimaced as a wave of pain hit her, and she stumbled and fell to her knees. </p><p>Akshi frowned and helped her up before abruptly spinning her a few times. He stopped her just as quickly. “Stay with us, Rouge,” he said. He clutched his chest, knowing he was a pot calling the kettle black.</p><p>Shadow searched the surroundings for a means to get across. Nothing. There wasn’t even an apparatus from the ceiling that could have assisted. “Just jump.”</p><p>“You <em> know </em>that it’s acid, right? I’m not an idiot,” Sonic said.</p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m out of ideas. Usually in the Black Comet there was always a means of travel, whether it was a rail or a...” His eyes became mystified for a moment as an idea popped into his head.</p><p>“I know what a rail is, and I don’t see it. And I don’t think there’s a... whatever you were about to talk abou--”</p><p>“Quiet, I’m trying to concentrate,” Shadow said. He tried to focus on the wall that crossed the pit. “I need to make a <em> trail </em>.”</p><p>Sonic tapped his foot and crossed his arms impatiently.</p><p>Akshi pensively watched as a strange syrupy strand crackled through the wall and pulsed like a vein in its lodging. He’d never seen the Black Arms, but something about such a sight made him physically ill. He wondered if vomiting was enough to shatter him.</p><p>Sonic frowned. “What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked.</p><p>“You spin along it,” Shadow said. </p><p>Sonic cautiously pressed his hand into the trail, recoiling immediately at how lukewarm and goopy it felt. He reached in again and realized that he could very well drown with how shockingly deep it was. “Do I have to do this? I’m okay running across acid, you know.”</p><p>“And wake up early?” Shadow asked. “You wanna wake up early?”</p><p>Sonic breathed in. “I value my sleep, Shadz, but--”</p><p>“It’ll be five seconds,” Shadow said. “Count it if you have to.”</p><p>“It’s deep!”</p><p>“It isn’t water, you don’t even have to swim. Just spin,” Shadow assured.</p><p>Sonic breathed in. “Five seconds.”</p><p>“Five seconds,” Shadow repeated.</p><p>Sonic glanced back and forth between the rest of the group and the trail as he bent his knees. “I hate swimming,” he muttered before plunging into the red stream.</p><p>Shadow began counting, flicking his fingers as each second passed.</p><p>Sonic quickly shot from the end of the trail and into the wall. “Oof!” he groaned. He stood up quickly and grinned. “See? Five seconds.”</p><p>“Actually, four and a half, but we’ll round up,” Shadow said, still flat in his affect. He slapped Sonic on the small of his back and walked down the hall. “Good work.”</p><p>Sonic looked at Rouge, who shrugged. Akshi forced a smile, even though he was still hunched over in pain.</p><p>Sonic ran after Shadow, and the two followed close behind as they went down the twisting halls. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to run into the hallucinations, but as they passed the kitchen, Shadow caught the familiar scent of cake. He paused, and the other hedgehog bumped into him.</p><p>“Shadow, what are you doing?” he asked.</p><p>“She’s… she’s been here,” he said. </p><p>“What’s that great smell?” </p><p>“It’s angel food cake,” Shadow said. “With… strawberries.”</p><p>“You could get strawberries up here?” he asked.</p><p>“We had a greenhouse and botany lab,” Shadow replied. “It was difficult to get strawberries to grow, but when we did, she was the first to find out. Rare things were the most fascinating.” His eyes grew soft. “She was so funny, like that…”</p><p>Sonic smiled. “Well, if she’s made them, where are they?”</p><p>Shadow looked at the counter. “You’re right. If they aren’t here, then she’s probably in my room.”</p><p>“Well? What are we waiting for?” Sonic asked. “Lead the way, I wanna see your crash pad.”</p><p>“It’s not a crash pad, it’s just--”</p><p>Sonic raised his eyebrow and smirked. Shadow scowled back.</p><p>“This way, then.” Shadow took another whiff of the air. His sense of smell wasn’t the sharpest, but the fresh strawberries and the sugar were unmistakable. He held his head high and continued tracking, knowing well that without it, he’d have more difficulty reaching his room.</p><p>But as he entered the hallway where his room would have been, he came to see something odd with the door- it appeared to be welded shut. From beyond the cold steel he could hear the gentle and familiar sobs of a young girl, and in that moment, he went from calm and collected to concerned. He hit his fist on the door.</p><p>“Maria!” he called. “Maria, I’m here!”</p><p>“S-Shadow?” the voice asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s me,” he said. He paused in embarrassment at the sound of his voice. </p><p>“Why do you sound so strange?” the girl asked. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”</p><p>Shadow swallowed. He looked over at Sonic, who now bore his body and his voice. It dawned on him that she would probably mistake his rival for him. His skin crawled thinking about it.</p><p>“Are you aware that you’re trapped in a dream?” he asked.</p><p>“Yes,” she answered.</p><p>“Well, I can prove it,” he said. “There’s… a panel by my bed.”</p><p>“What?” she responded. She seemed confused. </p><p>Shadow nodded, knowing from his earlier experiment with the trail that he had influence over a limited space in the ARK. Because the room was his, he’d memorized the layout, and because of that he knew exactly what would be in the hiding space. At the very least, what would be in there the moment before her eyes laid on what was in it. “I’ve been hiding stuff under the panel on the floor. The one that’s right in front of the nightstand,” he said. “If I can tell you one thing that’s in there, will you believe me?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, yes,” she said. The clatter of a panel hitting the floor indicated she’d found it.</p><p>“Good, lay all of that stuff out in front of you so you can see it all,” he said.</p><p>“Why?” she asked.</p><p>“Because you’ll know that none of it changed in front of your eyes. If I’m not real, your mind will change the items to accommodate what I said the <em> moment </em> your attention isn’t turned to it.”</p><p>“This is a lot of stuff. How long have you been saving these?”</p><p>“Um… well, I guess the best answer is fifty years, isn’t it?”</p><p>“Well, yes, I reckoned that,” she said. “My number is more than eighteen-thousand. Obviously that translates to more than fifty years of dreaming.”</p><p>“Don’t sass me, miss,” Shadow said. He felt the corners of his mouth upturning, and though he was fighting hard to maintain his composure he knew it was a losing battle. He had just held the hope that said battle would have lasted longer. “Are you ready, then?”</p><p>“Yes, I think so,” the voice replied. “Um… which item are you going to do, then?”</p><p>“All of them,” he flatly replied.</p><p>There was silence, and Shadow took it as his moment to have the floor. He breathed in and sighed. </p><p>“A sealed blue transparent bag of chocolates from my first Valentine’s day, six cans of your favorite strawberry lemonade, a seashell I got from the Professor that you and I would hold to our ears to listen to the ocean.”</p><p>“And?” she asked.</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “The blue present bow from my first Christmas that you stuck in my quills in a spot where I could quite reach, the paper-chain necklace you gave me when you ‘knighted’ me, and a crochet doll that you worked really hard on but one of the eyes decided to get lost.”</p><p>Maria chuckled. “We searched the entire colony for weeks, even asked the researchers to help us,” she muttered to herself. There was a pause, then she asked. “What’s the last thing? You’re missing something.”</p><p>“Right,” Shadow said. He paused, trying this best to find the right words. “The last item is the framed red maple leaf you gave me a long time ago.”</p><p>“There’s no way this is in here, I’d be giving this to you…” she trailed off. Her voice became firm. “One more question. Well, a composite question.”</p><p>“Anything,” Shadow said. “Shoot.”</p><p>“What did you call the leaf, and what happened today?” she asked.</p><p>“A ‘tree feather’,” Shadow said. “You gave it to me the day of the raid.”</p><p>There was a momentary silence, followed by whispering. Shadow wondered if she was alone in there, and if not... who was the person she was with?</p><p>His thoughts were cut short as the door broke open along its edges and was placed aside. Inside was a bird-girl who looked a lot like Akshi, and beside her was Maria, awestruck and crying as she held the framed leaf in her hands. Her eyes locked on Sonic for a moment and she grimly reached for his arms before pulling up each of the cuffs on his hands.</p><p>Shadow chuckled and pulled the cuff of the white glove on his left hand up, revealing the number. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked.</p><p>Maria turned, stopped for a moment, and stared at it before her eyes broke out in a wild but joy-stricken face. Before Shadow had any time to say anything else, he was tackled and smothered in a strong and quivering hug.</p><p>“I-Is it really… what’s going on?” she asked between happy sobs.</p><p>Shadow smiled, fighting hard to hold in the swelling behind his eyes. “It’s okay, Maria, I’m here,” he assured. His arms came up and wrapped around her. “I’m here.”</p><p>His thoughts raced as he realized his proof was right in front of him, and one thought shouted triumphantly above the rest.</p><p>
  <em> I’m home. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As Maria and Shadow reunite, Akshi learns the ugly truth of his sister's fate.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sonic looked at the two of them. Shadow and Maria had been locked in a hug for five minutes, but every time he opened his mouth to interrupt, he found no reason to stop them. </p><p>Shadow immediately spotted one of his gaping expressions out of the corner of his eye and assured Maria that he was satisfied with the physical contact before turning to him. “You got something to say, faker?” he asked. </p><p>Sonic raised his hands up in defense. “Me? No, nothing, I just… wow, this is kind of an awkward reunion.”</p><p>“Brother?” a voice called.</p><p>Akshi and Rouge looked into the room behind Maria, where a young bird girl stood, quietly smiling. “Hey, it’s her,” Rouge said.</p><p>Akshi sniffled. “So you’re the one who sealed the door, huh?” he asked as he stepped behind the blonde girl. “You’re getting better.”</p><p>“Eh,” Sonata said. “I wish I was half the user that you were.”</p><p>“Don’t undersell yourself,” Akshi said. “That was always your beef, wasn’t it? Difficulty with self-love? No wonder we’re both Emeralds.”</p><p>“Both?” she asked. “You… you didn’t escape?” she asked.</p><p>“I had to stand my ground, otherwise they’d break you,” he said. “I mean, I don’t even know how you’re here- the Garnet took your soul.”</p><p>Sonata frowned and looked away. “Not… exactly.”</p><p>“And what’s with the eyepatch? You didn’t have it last time.” Akshi tried to put his hands on her head to remove it, but she swatted his arms away. “Sonata, what’s up with you?”</p><p>The younger bird’s beak trembled slightly as her eyes searched the ground. “I want to tell you, but… not when Miss Robotnik is happy. Not yet,” she said.</p><p>Akshi furrowed. There was a strange feeling swirling in his stomach, and he nodded slowly. “Okay, I’ll not pry… yet.”</p><p>Sonata nodded. “Maria?” she asked. “Maybe since there are six of us we could all have the cakes?”</p><p>Shadow looked at her. “You still made cakes?” he asked.</p><p>“I thought it was just another iteration,” Maria replied. “Of course I made them.”</p><p>“Would it be wrong if I told you I’ve never had that dish since?” he asked.</p><p>Maria smiled. “I wouldn’t put it past you. Honestly, if I were in your position I wouldn’t eat it either.” She paused. “What’s it like? On Earth?”</p><p>“It’s more than we imagined it would be,” he replied. “There’s sound everywhere, people are busy with the most trivial of things most of the time, and that snow you were excited about seeing is… a lot colder than I expected.”</p><p>“It would certainly be nice to wake up and see it for myself,” she said.</p><p>“Where… are you?” Shadow asked. “When I realized you were alive, I had no idea where to look first.”</p><p>“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “I’m not sure myself. Every time I “wake”, I’m just here again.” She paused. “I could be on the ARK, or I could even be buried underground.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. He remembered the facsimile grave he’d seen when he’d laid Gerald’s old self to rest. “Wouldn’t you be suffocating?” he asked.</p><p>“Maybe, but what if the transfusions worked? I’d be immortal and buried six feet under.”</p><p>Shadow’s thoughts began to race. If she were buried alive, nobody would be able to hear her. He could feel his heart racing again. “Maria, why would you…”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to calm him down with another hug. “I…” Her eyes looked ashamed. “I don’t want to worry you, and I’m already doing it, aren’t I?”</p><p>“Yeah, maybe,” Shadow said, slowly regaining composure. “But that’s okay, you’re probably worried about where you are.”</p><p>Akshi frowned. “I can’t read her.”</p><p>Shadow looked at him. “What do you mean, you “can’t read her”? She’s perfectly fine.”</p><p>“There’s something here that interferes with that,” he said. “Sonata?”</p><p>“I can’t explain it, either, but I see what you mean,” she said. “I can’t read her either.”</p><p>“What are they talking about?” Maria asked.</p><p>“Some weird rock symbolism or whatever, guess she’s into it, too,” Sonic said. </p><p>“Correction,” Sonata replied, pointing to her brother with her thumb. “He compares people to rocks. I like plant metaphors better.” She paused. “But he’s still correct either way- I cannot read Miss Robotnik.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “Why not?” He began to grow worried as to what that meant. Perhaps he was wrong that she was alive and real. “Why not?” he repeated, a little bit more concerned.</p><p>“Relax, Shadow,” Maria said. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation for it.”</p><p>Shadow was about to protest when he felt a hand brush against his ear. His instinct drove his grip to Maria’s wrist before he recognized what he was doing. </p><p>“Shadow…” Maria spoke, trying her best to stay calm in the face of Shadow’s expression of worry. “You… you don’t like to be touched anymore, do you?”</p><p>Shadow frowned and gently placed her hand down on his head. “I just need to consent,” he said.</p><p>Rouge looked away for a moment, and though a pang of guilt hit Shadow for a second, he knew that her lack of boundaries was something she had to work on herself. No amount of well wishes would push her more than halfway towards wellness. The rest she would have to do on her own. Even so, he gave her a nod of assurance that his intention wasn’t one of shame.</p><p>Maria dug her fingers into the fold of his ear and scratched. Shadow paused and frowned, not sure what move to make next. He’d gone so long without that feeling of comfort that it was foreign. Foreign and almost wrong. But as the arch in his back settled, his eyes settled on her.</p><p>“Do you want me to stop?” she asked. “I know it’s been a while, and I can see you’re uncomfortable.”</p><p>“N-no!” Shadow blurted, perhaps a bit too loud. His back arched inward again and his shoulders stiffened. The others looked to him and he nervously looked side to side. “It’s just…” He swallowed. “It’s been so long, I don’t…” </p><p>Why were the words not coming out? Had he really been so reserved? He never spoke this much. The only reason he’d have to do so was to trash talk, but there was nobody competing right now.</p><p>Maria pulled her hand away. “Hang on,” she said. She stood up and walked over to the stash of things Shadow had been hiding. After being picky and choosy, she settled with a few items and returned. </p><p>Shadow began to blush as she put the paper chain around his shoulders and handed him a lemonade. She carefully popped the old dull tab and peeled the section of the lid and raised hers up slightly, giving him a gentle smile.</p><p>Shadow nodded and peeled his can before clicking it against hers. “Thank you,” he said.</p><p>“It was always my favorite. I take it that you’ve forgotten?” she asked.</p><p>“Heh, how do you forget a day like that?” he asked. He paused for a moment. “Oh.”</p><p>“Hm? What’s wrong?” she asked.</p><p>“Nothing,” Shadow said. “It’s just… wow, I don’t know how I can explain this. It sounds like a fever dream, Maria. I don’t know how long we have to catch you up to speed, especially about the Professor.”</p><p>“I mean, if my number is correct, he was in his late sixties or early seventies when the raid happened,” she said. “I’m aware that he’s probably not alive anymore.”</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. “That’s… a very complicated truth, yes.”</p><p>“What’s so complicated about it? People pass.”</p><p>Shadow swallowed the bile in his throat as he remembered his journey to accept Maria’s death a year ago. He glanced around the floor. “Like I said, I don’t know how long we have. I have to wake up tomorrow, I have an appointment.”</p><p>“But you don’t get sick,” she said.</p><p>“It’s not for me, it’s for a patient.” He looked at her directly. “It… the transfusions, they work.”</p><p>Maria leaned back and grabbed one of the cakes. “Here, you should have something. I’m ready to listen.”</p><p>Rouge leaned behind Maria and took a few cakes before returning next to the group that consisted of her, Sonic, and the bird siblings. She handed the treats to them and knelt down next to Akshi. “You’re still damaged,” she said. </p><p>“I’ve had worse,” Akshi replied.</p><p>“I know you’ve had worse. You’ve broken into pieces in front of me,” she said.</p><p>“You… you were shattered?” Sonata asked. “Akshi, how are we going to escape? You’re in serious danger!”</p><p>“I have a Guardian,” Akshi said. “I’m safe. At least, I’m <em> usually </em> safe.”</p><p>Rouge frowned. “Don’t be so hard on him.”</p><p>“I’m <em> teasing, </em>” Akshi said. “I know he has friends and responsibilities that don’t involve me.” He sighed. “Sona--” He paused. “Sorry, I can’t say your name.”</p><p>Sonata nodded. “It must have been hard losing me. How long have you been trapped?”</p><p>“Eight-thousand years,” the parakeet boy replied. “Well, give or take a century or two.”</p><p>“I’m sorry that I worried you for that long. But I held out until I could see you again.”</p><p>“Held out?” Akshi asked. “You held out long enough for me to figure out a way to keep you alive, right?”</p><p>Sonata looked away. “I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that,” she said. Her hands scratched at the back of her head. “That’s… that’s why I held out.”</p><p>Akshi furrowed. “Come on, sis, don’t play with me.”</p><p>“It’s true, I’ll show you,” she said. “Could you help me with my bandages?”</p><p>Akshi frowned. “I…”</p><p>Sonata shook her head. “Rouge? That’s your name, right? Can you do it?”</p><p>Rouge stood up, but Akshi gripped her arm. She could feel the sharp ends of his fingers digging into her skin and she quickly pulled it away. “What is your problem? You left marks!” she said, trying not to be too loud.</p><p>“Rouge,” Akshi said. “I…”</p><p>The bat shook her head and walked over to Sonata, helping her remove the bandages. “There you go, dear.”</p><p>Sonata motionlessly stared at Akshi as he caught a glimpse of her now uncovered eye. She could see the dread on his face and she wasn’t sure if shame and regret were strong enough words to describe the sickness she felt in her stomach. A tear ran from her other eye. “I didn’t want you to see it, but I can’t let you believe that everything will be alright. It isn’t right, and it’ll hurt you more.”</p><p>Sonic stared at the bird girl. “What is that?”</p><p>“It’s the Garnet exerting its influence. Once it takes over, I won’t be the host anymore, and my soul will--”</p><p>“Shut up,” Akshi said. “Just…” He stood up abruptly. Everyone seemed to be staring at him now and the room had fallen silent.</p><p>“Octave, I didn’t want to lie to--”</p><p>“It would have been better, at least I wouldn’t have known you were already as good as dead.” His eyes became bleary and he was doing what he could not to break into hysterics. The intensity of the vibrations within him were enough that Rouge could tell he was on the verge of breaking.</p><p>The bird breathed heavy as he stared at the eye she’d uncovered. It was full of green crystals as though the socket were stuffed with rocky lettuce, and as she went to open her mouth again, the facets of green spread slightly down her cheek. “I’m not dead yet,” she said. “The heartbreak was inevitable.”</p><p>Akshi shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sonata.”</p><p>Rouge frowned as the older bird turned and left the room. She looked to the younger one as the tears began to run down her face, and nodded with self-assurance. “Sonic, do me a favor?”</p><p>“Yeah, what’s that?” he asked, already uncomfortable with all of the tense feelings around him. </p><p>She gently gestured to Sonata. “Damage control. I’ll go talk to him.”</p><p>She walked up to Shadow. “Are you two doing alright?”</p><p>Shadow furrowed. “I’m fine, what the heck was that?”</p><p>“Well, to put it lightly, the Garnet is still attached to the younger bird and it’s slowly killing her. And big bro didn’t really take it well.”</p><p>Shadow frowned. “Can’t say I’d react much different,” he flatly replied.</p><p>“Shadow!” Maria said. “Have some sensitivity!”</p><p>Shadow bit his lip.</p><p>Rouge nodded, knowing how Shadow was. She thought for a moment before she spoke. “Don’t worry, dear- his bluntness comes from a place of empathy. I promise he is still sensitive.”</p><p>Shadow looked at her. “Rouge, I--”</p><p>“Not now,” Rouge said. “I have to go after him.”</p><p>She ran out of the room and down the hall as Akshi’s blue tail turned a corner. “Where are you going?”</p><p>“Leave me alone!” Akshi shouted. “I don’t need to feel better, I just want to feel bad.”</p><p>“And I’m not gonna let you!” Rouge said, following as his footsteps picked up. “I can hear where you are, there’s no point in running.”</p><p>A door slammed as she reached the adjacent hall. “Don’t come in here, Rouge.”</p><p>Rouge frowned. “Akshi, I’m not gonna let you be alone.”</p><p>“I’m going to be alone in the end no matter what,” he said. “She’s not just going to die- she’s going to disappear. She will cease to exist. I will be alone here in the end.”</p><p>Rouge grabbed the handle of the door. “Akshi, I want to help,” she said, pulling. It was somehow locked.</p><p>“You can help by letting me disappear, hoarding at least one of the fragments away from Knuckles so I don’t have to be reminded everyday of how much I’ve failed. About how I couldn’t save any of my friends.”</p><p>Rouge clenched her fist and raised her leg. She’d had enough. With a heavy kick of her heel, she busted the hinges off of the heavy door and kicked it aside.</p><p><em> “What about me?” </em>she asked, shouting.</p><p>Akshi stared at her as the dust settled. She was angry, truly angry. He’d never seen this form of rage from her, neither from their few interactions nor his eavesdropping. Her fists were curled and her arms were slightly locked in a crook as she advanced.</p><p>“What about me, huh?” she asked. “Am I not your friend?”</p><p>Akshi’s eyes became frantic. “R-Rouge, that isn’t what I--”</p><p>“I know that’s not what you meant, but it still hurts!” Rouge said, getting more angry. “I mean, I still don’t understand why you even did that. But to write it off as though you’re not able to do anything for your friends?” She came even closer to where he was at, to a spot against the wall he was sitting. Her figure towered over him. “You did <em> everything </em> you could just to save me.”</p><p>Akshi looked at her from his spot. His eyes were wide and teary.</p><p>“You can’t change the past, Akshi,” Rouge said. “Nobody can. It sucks. It sucks a lot. But if you get hung up on all the people you couldn’t save, your heart will never stop breaking.”</p><p>“I’ll never stop breaking,” he breathed. “Why do you care, though?”</p><p>Rouge felt a tear run down her face. She sat down and relaxed next to him. “There... are billions of people on Earth. Billions of people whose lives I will never be part of. And some of those people have miserable lives that I’ve never even seen. And it kills me that I’ll never get to make it better for them.” She paused. “But for the people who are in my life right now, I do my best to try to make a difference for them. It’s all I can do. And yeah, it seems like I’ve messed up lately, and maybe I’ve been messing up for a long time, but… I don’t think Shadow would be where he is if I didn’t break him out. I don’t think Omega would be my friend if I never went to Eggman’s base and freed him. And you…” She trailed off.</p><p>“What about me?” he asked. “I can’t make a difference now, not like you can.”</p><p>“Don’t ever say that again,” she said, standing up. “You can be sad, you can be angry, but don’t <em> ever </em> say that you can never make a difference, because when you did what you did a month ago, you… <em> you made all the difference to me. </em> Don’t ever forget that.”</p><p>As she turned around, she felt Akshi grab her wrist. “Ugh, what is it now?” she asked, turning back to confront him.</p><p>He looked her in the face. His eyes were glistening, and he carefully stood. “Lemme ask again: why do you care?”</p><p>“I told you why- you made all the difference to me,” she said.</p><p>Akshi looked around for a moment before nodding. “I’m sorry for this, Rouge, and I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same.”</p><p>“What are you talking abou--”</p><p>Rouge paused as Akshi carefully held the small of her back and leaned forward. His eyes were uncertain for a moment as he scanned her face, and she chuckled as it all came together why he’d saved her. After a moment, she grinned. “Akshi,” she said.</p><p>“Hm?” he asked, momentarily pausing.</p><p>She reached up and grabbed his head before gently leaning in and giving him a kiss. At first, his feathers stiffened, but as they relaxed he held her closer and carefully plucked her hand from his head before parting from her. </p><p>“Did you just…” his quiet voice trailed off.</p><p>Rouge smiled and looked at him. “I’m the thief here, remember. Nobody steals a kiss from me.”</p><p>Akshi burst into laughter. “I… I wanted to say something but…”</p><p>“How long have you been this goofy?” she asked. </p><p>“I don’t believe in love at first sight, but…” he paused, holding her hands. “You could say I’ve been admiring you from afar for at least a year of your escapades.”</p><p>“Geez, I know I love jewels, but I didn’t think one would love me,” she said. “This is… quite the development.”</p><p>“I suppose it is, isn’t it?” Akshi replied. “Um… I’m sorry if you don’t feel the same, I can--”</p><p>Rouge gripped his hand tighter. “Don’t apologize.”</p><p>“Why? You clearly--”</p><p>“Because your heart is racing and it has been ever since you first saw me,” she said. “Don’t lie to me.” She paused. “And besides, what I felt just now…”</p><p>Akshi felt an intense heat rush over him. Her emotions were rubbing off on him again, and it was then that he knew what her response was. “Um,” he asked, “do you… mind if maybe…”</p><p>“Ugh, do I have to spell it out for you?” she asked. She quickly leaned back in and gave him another kiss, this time a little longer. She melted immediately and breathed out through her nose, and after a moment she parted. “You’re more dense than I thought.”</p><p>Akshi chuckled. “I think… I’m okay. Well, I’m not okay- I’m terrified. But I don’t feel alone anymore.”</p><p>“That’s how you should feel. What you said back at the apartment, about how you’re ultimately the only one you’re stuck with? It was wrong, because you’re stuck with me, got it?”</p><p>Akshi nodded. “Just don’t trip and fall if you ever pay my Guardian a visit. I’d hate to be shattered out of clumsiness.”</p><p>Rouge played a bit with the necklace. “Maybe if I pay you a visit every now and then, you can pay me one as well. I mean, you <em> do </em>have a key.”</p><p>“You’re really gonna let me keep this, after all the trouble I’ve caused?”</p><p>Rouge backed away and turned around, beckoning him to follow her back to where everyone else was gathered. “You said it yourself- it would be pointless for me to hang onto it. And besides,” she added, “I wanna show you the other restaurants I’ve memorized. There’s this great dumpling place I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of.”</p><hr/><p>Bastette tramped through the wet leaves behind Tails as the early morning light began to peek through the woods. She carried Blue on her back, and though she still had a small drip of black ooze from the corner of her mouth, she was fortunately breathing, just passed out. The cat was still confused as to what had happened, since Blue had for all intents and purposes been shouting at nothing. “Don’t you think it’s strange that nobody was there?” she asked her friend.</p><p>“Maybe. But Sonic said when Doom contacted him that he saw things. Maybe it’s because of the Hivemind.” Tails paused. “Then again, it does seem awfully strange that Doom has been targeting her when he said he wanted nothing to do with her.”</p><p>Bastette frowned. “How do we know she isn’t just trying to trick us? I mean, if Doom still has contact with her, she could be lulling us into a false sense of security.”</p><p>Tails was about to speak, but paused as she processed the question. Bastette wasn’t necessarily wrong, but there was something really odd about the things that Blue had done in response to being taken in. “Don’t you think someone aiming to kill us would have done it already?” Tails asked. “She clearly is capable of setting a fire, she could have burned all of us.”</p><p>“Weren’t you awake the entire time?” Bastette asked.</p><p>“No, actually,” Tails said. “When she took a nap, so did I. It’s why I’m not as tired as I could be. I fell asleep and she was still in the same spot when I woke up.”</p><p>Bastette looked over her shoulder as Blue loosely clung to her. The alien was still peacefully resting, but she was muttering unintelligibly in her sleep. She couldn’t make out any words, but she was clearly dreaming and talking to… someone. Doom, perhaps? He was the only one who made sense.</p><p>“Shadow…” Blue breathed.</p><p>Tails paused and made another note of Blue’s utterings. “You heard that too, right?” she said. </p><p>Bastette nodded. “That’s strange, but maybe Doom told her who she’s supposed to be hunting,” she said. “She could just be repeating it so she knows who to hunt down.”</p><p>“I mean, that doesn’t make sense either- why would he turn her loose if she’s supposed to work with him?” </p><p>Bastette looked away. “I don’t know, this is all pretty sus.”</p><p>Tails nodded. “I mean, you find it suspicious, I just find it fascinating,” she said. “It’s a puzzle.” She looked at the Emeralds in her arms. “At least we have the majority of the Emeralds.”</p><p>Bastette frowned. “They still are going to have three of them, Tails. That’s still enough for a precision strike of a few city blocks.”</p><p>“Blue said they needed all seven,” Tails said. “The protocol got shut off a month after Sylphic joined up with the Team, right?”</p><p>Bastette nodded. “If they’re trying to reactivate the collision program, it’ll fail.”</p><p>“That’s not gonna stop them from using the Cannon itself, just the whole ARK,” Tail said. “Six of them were enough to tear off a huge portion of the moon and mess with its tidally-locked face. So seven could probably split the Earth apart to the very core. So, it’s still <em> very </em>dangerous.”</p><p>“But what are we going to do? We have to get to the ARK to stop them, but how will we get up there?”</p><p>“I have connections,” Tails said. “Rouge, Shadow, Briggs… we don’t have to worry about that, Bastette. I’ll let them know once everyone is up and ready to go, so there will be plenty of time to make preparations.”</p><p>Bastette looked at the alien on her back. “Something about this just doesn’t seem right. I don’t know why Dire Doom is being so scatterbrained with his plans.”</p><p>“We don’t really know his plans, so you might be mischaracterizing it,” Tails said. “Even so, I share your sentiment- something is very wrong about how this is happening.”</p><p>Bastette paused. “Tails, do you hear that?” she asked.</p><p>Tails went quiet and listened. There was a slight rustle of leaves, and she turned around. “Who’s there?” she asked, fiddling with the bracelet around her wrist.</p><p>It was quiet, and the two stood there for a few minutes at least before continuing forward.</p><p>From beyond their view sat another darkling, bright-eyed and pensive as he stalked them like a tiger. The low purr had nearly gotten him caught, as had his quick duck into the bushes, but he was now making motions to trail them.</p><p>A harsh sound came from a small device that clung to his cheek. It was quiet enough that only he could hear, but even so he jumped at it just a bit.</p><p>“Retrograde, have you found them?” the course voice asked. </p><p>“Indeed, Doctor,” he replied. His voice rattled in the early morning wind. “They’re headed for the ARK.” He paused from his transmission and smirked as he watched the duo walk into a nearby house. </p><p>“The ARK?” the voice said. “Ugh, I’ll have to get the transport pad ready.”</p><p>Retro’s smirk faded every time the Doctor’s voice came back. He couldn’t have even a moment of self-satisfaction over his own aims. Humans were so easy to deceive. “Good. Once everything falls into place, we can begin phase two. How are you on building the device?”</p><p>“Synthesizing the matter of the Comet shouldn’t be too difficult once we’ve cracked the world open like a geode,” he said. “What of your end of the deal?”</p><p>“Once I make contact with Father, the deal will be drawn,” he said, breaking into a grin. “If you play your part, we will extend our mercy.”</p><p>“No reason to threaten me,” the voice replied. “You’re in no position to be anyways- I’m the one helping you rebuild your comet.”</p><p>“You’re no fun,” Retrograde said. “I’m going to keep you updated. Don’t let me down, terrestrial. End transmission.”</p><p>He paused and grinned as the lights came on inside. His “employer” was a pawn. His sister was a mere weapon. And he was dead-set on being the next vessel.</p><p><em> Father, </em> he thought. <em> Can you hear me? </em></p><p><em> “Shhh…” </em> a calm voice replied. It felt like Doom to the darkling, but something was off about the tone. <em> “Keep quiet, and keep your eye on them.” </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Double Vision</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow discovers the true horror of Dire Doom, and upon waking up, he relays this information to the rest of the team to hatch a plan.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shadow looked at Maria as a strange chill fell over the room. Something was wrong. Something was different. Something had changed. Her hands were growing cold too, and her eyes seemed fixed on a particular spot on the ceiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow,” she said. “I don’t know where I am, but I’m hearing strange noises. I heard them when I was… you know…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pursed his lips. “What are they saying?” he asked. “Maybe you’re hearing something from where you’re at.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t make them out, but it’s a woman’s voice.” She paused. “She’s saying…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked at her when she trailed off, hoping that she’d continue, but to his surprise he found her quivering with both hands over her mouth. “Maria, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to jar her hands from her mouth but couldn’t. Her arms were locked where they were. “I-I can’t…” she said through her fingers. “I-I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked around, confused. “Maria, if it hurts too much to say you don’t have to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying to--” she said, taking a sharp and pained breath after. “I don’t understand why I can’t--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow jumped a little as Sonic buckled beneath the strain of whatever force had taken both of them. “What is this?” the younger hedgehog asked, clutching his head. “Who is…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked at Sonata, who’d finished crying and was now staring in awe at what was going on. Well, perhaps awe wasn’t the right word- </span>
  <em>
    <span>horror </span>
  </em>
  <span>seemed more appropriate. She looked to Shadow and nodded, and the crystalline structure in her eye spread a little bit more. “I can recognize this,” she said. “It’s the same flavor of awful I got when I first started succumbing to the Garnet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Shadow said. “But, what do you even mean by that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s another Eye,” she said. “One that isn’t attached to you. Whatever it is, there’s something in common with Maria and your body that’s making this happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria finally spoke up, gasping as she stopped clutching her mouth. “Shadow, I think… I think your blood has something to do with this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head for a second in disbelief. The walls outside moaned and the sounds of dripping slime and the scent of rot gathered. There was no clear visual that Shadow could see, but the dread seemed to peek in. “Maria, how long have you been having those hallucinations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since I got my transfusions,” she said, still anguished. “Well, since about a month after the start of the treatment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head. They wouldn’t be the only ones affected by this. His stomach swirled at the thought of how Bastette was managing her sister. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata carefully brushed off her trousers. “Hang on, what if…” She squeezed her eyes shut and focused. “This has to be manageable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi and Rouge entered the doorway and gasped. “What’s going on here?” Rouge asked Shadow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whole room fell silent as Maria and Sonic sat back up. The former stared at Akshi for a moment, but there was something wrong with her eyes. They’d lost their glint entirely as she shakily stood up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic instinctively stood up and began moving towards her. The uncomfortable feeling in his chest pulled him forward, but as he went to grip Maria’s shoulder to prevent her from walking forward, she raised a hand up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the…” he said, frustrated as his legs and arms failed to move. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A strange voice seemed to gurgle from Maria’s throat. Shadow frowned as he caught the intent of danger in her eyes and moved forward. “Maria, what are you doing? This isn’t like you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria stopped for a second before a familiar voice seemed to echo through the halls. The voice sent Shadow into a quiet and reserved panic as he tried to comprehend what was going on. He knew the voice, he knew the tone, and that only made it more terrifying to hear it come from his best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, you generous donations have made this far too easy,” the raspy voice said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s quills stood on end. “Doom, what have you done to Maria? Where is she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know…” he said. “If I told you, I wouldn’t have a food source anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow felt sick. “Get your disgusting hands off my friend,” he said, moving forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pair of arms restrained him, and he looked back to see that Sonic had grabbed him and refused to let go. “Get off of me, you son of a--” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice came from Sonic’s mouth now, but in Shadow’s tone of voice. The cold and frigid sound sent him into chills, but it was intermixed with a new voice, this time more feminine and sadistic. “Is that any way to talk to your progenitor?” he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow recoiled as he felt something wet and warm against his neck that left a trail of slime. He forcibly tore himself from Sonic’s grip and turned around. As he caught Sonic wiping his lip with one of his arms, Shadow spied his dead-eyed glare and a familiar symbol hovering over his forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart began to race, and he could feel the same horrifying pressure-pain strike his chest as he recognized Doom for what he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So now you’re aware,” Doom said. Sonic’s face still glowered, but now there was an intense fire in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow turned and began running towards Maria, who was still advancing on Akshi. He lurched as Sonic grabbed at his waist and held him fast. “Oh no,” he said. “You’re not going anywhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata, terrified in all of this, began holding her arms out, terrified as her powers failed. “Akshi, run!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the blue bird turned, Maria’s arm shot out from her side, sharpening to a point of deep black and piercing whatever was in front of her…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… which happened to be Rouge. The bat stood there for a moment and smirked at the spike through her rib before turning to Akshi. “Glad it was me instead of you, huh?” she said. “I’ll come back, just please go find me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In an instant, she dissolved. Maria gained control again and began breathing in and out far too quick. She held herself close and stared at Shadow before dissolving as well. Sonic felt a firm punch to the face as he was knocked back and subsequently turned to dust, and Shadow, now free of his grasp, was left alone with the birds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What… what was that?” Akshi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata tried to compose herself, falling into her brother’s arms for comfort. She wrapped her arms tightly around him. “The Garnet isn’t alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow clutched his head, remembering the eye symbol he’d seen over Sonic’s forehead. He still felt his heartbeat racing, and he was shaking from the intensity of his palpitations. “Akshi… she’s right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the sirens came on, Shadow’s panic kicked into overdrive, and he immediately vanished.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Tails was already there to offer water to him. Sonic sat up in the chair and awkwardly looked at his rival, and Bastette was at the front window making phone calls. Everything seemed to be just as frantic out in the waking world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But maybe that was the anxiety talking. Shadow graciously took the water and downed the glass. “Thanks…” he muttered, affect flat but shaky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic stared at his hands. “What the heck did I just do? I don’t know what came over me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure how close Bastette was to hearing them, so he scooted a bit closer, being careful not to nudge the little alien in her sleep. “You were possessed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… was?” Sonic asked. “It felt wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow remembered that Sonic had licked his neck under the Eye’s influence and shuddered. He didn’t want to bring it up. It stirred up uncomfortable emotions aside from the ones of his horrific discovery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to you two?” Tails asked. She nervously looked at Bastette. “Tette said she had a courtesy call from Jolt about Briar- she apparently had convulsions in her sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “As I had suspected. Sonic, can you explain? I…” he was still reeling at the thought of what he’d witnessed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “I don’t wanna have to explain what I did there. I mean, it was gross.” He wrung his hands. “Are… are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stared for a moment, then shook his head. “I know you weren’t in your right mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails awkwardly shuffled over with a plate of waffles. “Um… can someone please use a full sentence to explain what happened? Or do I have to build a device to get my answers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “It’s really an uncomfortable answer, but… I sorta… licked him?” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s face began to flush from the embarrassment and he quickly set his drink down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails sighed and set the plate on the coffee table. “Was this… a conscientious decision?” she asked, awkwardly grinning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” they both said aloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails put her hands up. “Geez, okay!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned and grabbed the water again. “There’s another Eye of Luneria,” he said. “It took ahold of Sonic somehow and did… that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Tails said. “Yeah, I guess that is uncomfortable.” She carefully sat down next to Shadow on the couch and gently pet Blue, who was still snoozing. “Glad it’s over, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maria is alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails looked at Shadow. “What?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow turned and intently glared at her. “Maria is alive,” he repeated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails raised a finger and stood back up before running to her knapsack. She fished out a notepad and a pen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What I always do with a new development- notate every detail.” She quickly returned to the couch. “Okay, start from the beginning.” She paused as she saw Shadow still ruminating over what he’d said. “Sonic, give Shadow some time and go first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well…” he said. “We started off by finding Rouge’s apartment and meeting back up with Rouge and that bird guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akshi,” Tails said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akshi, right,” Sonic replied. “We figured out we should be heading to the ARK since it appeared over the city, and when we got there, Akshi’s sister and… Shadow’s friend happened to be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. Her tongue began to poke out from her mouth as she focused. “Okay, I’m starting to get a picture. Not much yet, but I’m getting there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, when we found them we found out Akshi’s sister is growing a nasty green crystal in her eye,” he said. “Judging by how Akshi reacted, I think it’s safe to say that--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm… was it spreading?” Tails asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it was,” Shadow replied. “Akshi seemed to react as though she were already dying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Poor Akshi,” Tails said, pausing to take one of the waffles. She bit off the edge of it and continued. “He just found out his sister is alive and now she’s going to end up like the rest of his friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, making a long story short,” she said, “his friends lost their souls to Luneria a long time ago. I don’t know why the Garnet would hang on to his sister like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow thought for a moment on what Luneria had said to him. She’d mentioned that she’d been feeding on Maria, and she’d implied that it was continuous. Shadow felt a burst of painful swill brush the back of his throat before he harshly swallowed again. “The Garnet is doing the same thing that Luneria is doing to Maria- savoring her like candy.” The comparison made him sick, even if it was apt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “That makes… a lot of sense, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stared at him. “You say that like there was something you saw, too,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not saw, but tasted,” he corrected. “Even though I couldn’t stop it from happening, when I… you know… it tasted like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chili dogs, I’m guessing,” Shadow ventured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, but…” Sonic paused, embarrassed that he was even about to admit it. “It tasted better than any chili dog I’ve ever had. That’s one of the reasons I’m messed up about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shuddered. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wish you hadn’t said that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too, buddy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, that’s good information, actually,” Tails said. “I think I’m beginning to get it. Shadow, what about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic seemed to cover a lot of it, but I still have a few things,” he said. “For starters, Maria was acting just as strange. She was hostile and… not herself. They were both under the same control.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Luneria has control of both of them, somehow? I’m not sure what could link your body with Maria, Shadow,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about his blood?” Sonic asked. “You give Briar transfusions, why not your friend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails paused. “That’s eerie,” she said. “Bastette, are you okay? I think we have some details to discuss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette was still teary-eyed as she backed away from the window. “I-Is this about Briar?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, actually,” she said. As the cat came over to the fox’s sitting point and stood behind the couch, Tails handed her the notes she took. “What can you make of this? I know what I’m seeing but I need a second pair of eyes to make sure it’s clear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette’s eyes flicked back and forth on the page. “This is… hm…” She looked at Sonic, then to Shadow, and frowned. “So from what it appears, the only people who were affected by the Eye that showed up have some link through Shadow’s blood. The same blood that gives poor Briar the hallucinations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “Shadow, where is Maria? You said she was alive, surely she would have told you where she was.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I had the answer,” Shadow replied. “When I asked, she said that every time she wakes up she’s just at the beginning of the dream again. She’s been having it since…” he trailed off. “I think you know what.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she said. “I know what.” She jotted down a few more notes. “It’s possible that she’s being </span>
  <em>
    <span>kept </span>
  </em>
  <span>unconscious by whatever has her. I mean, you watched her that day, she didn’t turn to crystal. She has a body… somewhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow remembered what Maria had said. “I don’t like the possibilities that were posited.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “We need to get a search going. Do you have any means to contact GUN? I’d normally ask through Jolt but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Briggs has his hands full right now,” Bastette said. “He has a meeting to take care of.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “Isn’t Rouge awake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails frowned. “I tried calling her but she wouldn’t answer,” she said. “I don’t have any idea what she’s up to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “Here, give me my phone,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I left your phone at Rouge’s place,” Sonic replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, of course,” Shadow said. He was a bit louder than normal. “Someone give me their phone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed. “Okay, I’m probably the one who will be the most cleared,” she said, handing him her phone after unlocking it. “I mean, my sister’s dad is a member of the Brass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t matter, as long as I have a line,” he said. He began flicking through the screens and tapping. “Just making sure this isn’t traced…” he muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got issued that phone two weeks ago,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People can tap in by that point, hopefully your phone is clean enough. Normally I’d use my burner but </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t seem to think ahead…” Shadow glared at Sonic before he rubbed the spot on his thigh. The injection from last night still stung a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held the phone up and listened, tapping his foot as he waited. There was no way that G.U.N. would buy this. He groaned as the familiar ache of the arm he broke the night before settled back in.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is a highly secure line, and I do not recognize this phone number. Please input--”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, no reason to use a robotic tone of voice,” Shadow said, irritated. “Site 81, User A031SB. I have a clearance code of 7A. Before you ask, the answers are crimson and ebony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You don’t sound like Agent Shadow,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the voice replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head. “I’m…” he paused. “Sick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Records indicate that you’re impervious to illness. Care to try again, sir?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Shadow groaned. “Anderson, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That is correct,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> the voice replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The one who’s been flirting with the new office assistant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Excuse me?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Anderson replied. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know what you’re--”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll report you to your director as </span>
  <em>
    <span>well </span>
  </em>
  <span>as to her fiance, Tom,” he replied. “I know who I am, so stay in your lane.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...could I have the registration number on your government-issued vehicle? For posterity, of course.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As Shadow continued his call, Tails gave Sonic a plate and a few waffles before handing him a fork. “Sorry, it’s a bit short notice. I was busy making... more notes. And I forgot to wake you two. We’re a bit behind schedule, but it’ll still be enough time to head over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic nodded and looked at the clock, which read 9:45. “That’s alright, I’m certain that we can zip over there no problem.” He looked down at Shadow’s shoes. “Thanks for giving me a crash course last night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s what friends do, right?” she said. “Besides, it’s a new skill.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Appealing to my sense of adventure,” he said, ruffling her hair. “I’m glad to know you’re still okay with me after… well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, this whole little adventure is leaving me feeling more certain that I wanna be your bestie,” she said. “That sort of honesty was something we both needed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right!” Sonic said. “I need your help with something. And you’re the smartest girl I know, so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, spill the details,” the fox said with a smirk. “Don’t butter me up without following through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know how you said we need to start a search?” he said. “Well, one of the places that Shadow’s friend might be is up on the ARK.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is pretty massive,” Tails replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Sonic replied. “He said that as soon as this whole mess with the Garnet is over, he’s gonna go search by himself. I can’t let him go alone- it’ll take him months!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that a coincidence?” the fox said, pulling out her notes. “We have to head to the ARK anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Tails said, pointing at a page. “Turns out that the Black Arms intend to use the Cannon. We’re gonna head up there and nip Dire Doom in the bud before they get a chance to use it.” She paused as though she were about to say something, but then shut her mouth again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, just details about the mission I should </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> keep to myself for now,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic nodded. “I trust ya, buddy,” he said. “Anyway, do you think we could pull something together to help him find her, like a scan or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You read my mind,” Tails said. “That’s what we’re gonna use to pinpoint Doom when we’re up there. I can calibrate it to make it more sensitive.” She checked her notes. “If I’m calculating this correctly, I’ll just need a few hours to make sure all parts of the plan are in motion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, what are we going to do in the meantime?” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a date to keep with your appointment,” she said. “And I’m going to need to do some work on my own. So the rest of them should head along with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s an appointment, right? No need to have people tagging along…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you fell last night, your arm got broken,” Tails said. “Well, Shadow’s arm for now. But it’s still your arm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Sonic said. He looked down at himself again. “I forgot that for a second. I mean, you’d think that I of all people would be happy looking like… you know what I mean, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re questioning it because it doesn’t feel right?” Tails asked. “Maybe because you know that isn’t you. It isn’t you, I promise. You aren’t any less yourself because of this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic smiled. “Thank you, Tails. I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails smiled back. “If I didn’t know better I would have snapped a photo to remember the day Shadow the Hedgehog cracked a smile.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic nodded. “You’ll have plenty of time once we find our answers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow ended the call and began fiddling with the cat’s phone. “Alright, time to flush your phone of any traces of that conversation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed. “This better not remove my contact with Briggs. I need to keep up to date while Jolt moves out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I accidentally do, I’ll get you an updated contact file,” Shadow said, handing the phone back. “Sonic, what are you and Tails talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it was nothing, just some plans. We have to go to the ARK,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “Yeah, any time the Black Arms are involved, I assume they’ll go for the most powerful weapon to try and do as much damage as possible. That’s why I called an evacuation notice in,” he said. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, hopefully,” Tails replied. “Shadow, I need you to go with Sonic. You should take Bastette and Blue with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Bastette is headed to Kingdom Valley and Nyx might be able to assess this thing between you two. As for why I need Blue gone…” she paused. “I think she still has a connection with Doom, even if she isn’t aware of it. I’m hoping that you can keep her busy so I can get our plan in action when we go up there.” She frowned. “There are other reasons too, but I can’t disclose them yet. I’m sure you’d understand why.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue stirred on the couch and opened her eyes to see the waffles that were left on the coffee table. Tails watched as she began eating, but did her best not to make too much eye contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do I get the suspicion that you’ve got a plan B?” Shadow said, placing his hands on his hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a plan B. What you’re sensing is probably plan C.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Shadow said. “You forgot to tell me that my arm is broken and I need to go to the doctor’s anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured you’d have the sense to remember,” Tails said, closing her notebook. She walked over to Blue and offered a plate. “You’re going to make a mess. Eat quick because Sonic and Shadow are taking you to the doctor’s office.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S...Shadow?” Blue asked. Her head turned towards the black hedgehog. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is something wrong?” Tails asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s nothing…” Blue said. She gingerly put the waffle in her mouth and began to chew, glancing every three or four seconds at Sonic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails frowned and turned around before moving close to Sonic. “She’s hypervigilant about you, I think that’s a sign. Keep your guard up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem,” Sonic said. “Don’t take too long, and keep me updated.” He slid his own phone off the nearby table. “Text me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it,” the fox said, giving her friend a thumbs up before bounding to Bastette. As the two academic types finalized plans, Shadow gently picked up Blue, who still had a waffle hanging from her mouth. “So, are you ready for your first acting gig?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This’ll be a breeze,” Sonic said. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ditto,” Shadow replied, matching Sonic’s cadence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent,” Sonic said, adjusting his posture. “Break a leg.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to GaySarahK for some suggestions on improvement as well as particular dialogue flares. You writing vibes make everything more lively. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Break A Leg</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylphic performs his routine blood drawing with Shadow, only to come face to face with a series of increasingly fascinating and horrifying discoveries.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Akshi held his sister as they landed back onto the city streets of Rouge’s dream city. He looked around, carefully checking to see if the coast was clear of the threats he’d seen before moving away from her. “Are you alright?” he asked. He tried not to look into the spot of her face where the crystals were spreading, but he knew at some point he’d have to look anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Sonata said, standing up. “I never got much of a look at this place. Is this… the future?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, as much of the future as Rouge has memorized. It’s a few miles long.” Akshi looked about, trying to get his bearings. “I think we’re near her apartment, actually. Maybe we could reconvene there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata nodded. “Rouge said she’d be back, so if that’s her most familiar place, she will likely be there, yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to lose you. I wish there was a way to make you stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata shook her head. “All good things end, Octave,” she said. “You know how I feel about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi sniffled. “I just don’t understand why you’re willing to let yourself disappear,” he replied. “I couldn’t even bear to think about a world without you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been in that kind of world for eight-thousand years,” Sonata replied. “Besides, you aren’t lonely anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi flushed up. “Is it really that obvious?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it is,” she said. “You always thought you were a lonely flower in a field. Despite how noble you were, you never had anybody you didn’t hold at an arm’s length. So when you suddenly change, it’s as clear as the crystals you talk so much about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi shook his head. “I can’t believe I’d fallen quite so hard,” he said. “I mean… I can’t leave this place. It’s practically impossible to make this work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s got a rose,” Sonata said. “Through and through. A person with unclear emotions that plays off of those around her in her altruism. Different colors are given as gifts to different types of people,” she said. “She can make it work, but can you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi paused. “I don’t know. I’ve lived my life seeing that people don’t change all that much. In the grand scheme, you figure you know what they will do. I know what she will do, or at least, I thought I did, up until…” As he trailed off, he ran his fingers along his beak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata chuckled. “A rose bush is capable of taking over a garden. It takes time and effort to care for them, and if they get too out of hand, the bush will entangle you in its brambles. I will admit that under normal conditions I’d never recommend anybody to be with someone like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But?” Akshi said. “I know that’s what you’re about to say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I think that there’s a certain person for everyone, every garden plant has someone who can handle them. And if there’s anything I know about you, it’s that you’re stubborn.” She gently punched his shoulder. “So I think that if you try, you stand a better chance at success than most, even if you can only ever see her when she’s asleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two of them walked into a nearby building, Akshi wrung his hands. He wasn’t sure how to bring it up. He opened the elevator and led her in before speaking again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m still gonna miss you,” he said, pressing the elevator buttons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you are. But I knew I wasn’t going to make it,” Sonata said. “We aren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to last forever. That’s why I’ve always likened people to flowers and trees. Even you, for all you are, you can still be cut down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So now I’m a tree?” he said. “Last time I checked, I was a flower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People change, their trajectories change,” she said. “Even so, you didn’t change much. You’re just more resilient than I thought. Redwood trees live a long time, after all.” She smiled. “If you have to know what you can offer her, you can offer her safety.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m stuck in here though,” Akshi said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata put a hand on his shoulder. “You misunderstand. That isn’t the safety she needs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi’s eyes widened. “Perhaps I know what you mean, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata smiled. “I know that you want to save me, but the truth is that there’s no way to preserve my spirit here. I’ve ruminated over it for eons, and only one of two possibilities are here.” She raised one of her fingers. “One; I continue like this, eventually succumbing to the Garnet’s power and disappearing forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s exactly what I don’t want,” Akshi said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, unless something else takes my life first, that’s where I’m headed,” she said. “The only one who can die here is you, and I don’t see you shirking your duties anytime soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi went to speak, but stopped with his mouth slightly ajar. She was right- he was the Master Emerald, and despite how much he wanted to save her, he couldn’t bear to burden her with the save pain he was feeling now. Saddling her with the burden of guilt if he traded places with her was hideously unfair. “There’s gotta be some way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m surprised I’m still here,” she said. “I’m content with my fate and I got the closure I needed. Why am I still here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi paused as he remembered the giant Garnet that hung over the city. “Because you’re not the host right now…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...what?” she asked. “But… but I have to be. Why else would I have this?” She pointed to her eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he said. “But I think I know where we need to head next.” He smirked as the elevator opened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I’m not the host, then who is?” she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi stepped out of the elevator and frowned. “I think I know. But right now… I think we’re on the wrong floor.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Sylphic adjusted the framed certificate in his office. He’d climbed his way back into a proper practice after a battle with a lot of higher authorities thanks to the help of G.U.N., and while he was still wary of their reputation, he was grateful that they were giving him the time he needed to appropriately get his practice in order. He picked up the last book on the nearby table and placed it on the bookshelf near his desk. “Finally, spring cleaning- well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>autumn </span>
  </em>
  <span>cleaning, anyway- is finally done,” he said to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of the door of the apartment opening clunked and he grinned. That was his cue. He opened the door of the examination area and peered into the living room, where he spied a few more guests than normal. “Oh, I’m surprised to see you all here. Is something wrong?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette pursed her lips. “Nothing major, just here because I have to take these three to Kingdom Valley.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three?” Syll asked. He saw Sonic and Shadow, but he wasn’t sure who the third person was until he tilted his head downward. The black-grey and crimson spoke volumes as his eyes locked on the little alien clinging to Bastette’s side. “Oh my…” he breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Black Arms member hugged Bastette’s leg a little tighter. Sylphic paused as he realized that the poor thing was frightened, perhaps because he was a stranger. He nodded in self assurance and went over to a nearby cabinet, from which he pulled a basket of suckers and picked out a few before walking back over. “Don’t worry, little one, I’m not here to give you a checkup.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little alien grabbed the suckers and began gnawing on one of them, wrapper and all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette frowned. “You shouldn’t be feeding her sugar,” she said. “She’s an absolute fiend for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An insectoid species like the Black Arms would obviously be tempted by sugar, just like ants would be,” he said. “It’s called hospitality.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you have no idea how much she can handle,” the blue hedgehog said. “She could get sick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’re awfully grouchy today. Are you…?” Sylphic stopped as he eyed the other visitors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “He already told us, and no, he’s just cranky because he slept on his arm wrong. You know how it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Told us what?” Bastette asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Shadow said. “I’m sure he’ll tell you later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic awkwardly pursed his lips. “Right... Tails called ahead of time about getting you in, Sonic,” he said. “I hope you’ve been keeping ice on your arm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic’s eyes widened. “Well you see…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic sighed. “Well, hopefully the damage isn’t too bad.” He patted Shadow on the back. “Right, it’s your turn first,” he said. “I have some tests I need to run and I’d appreciate your cooperation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “Just get it done quick so I don’t have to think too hard about it,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic grinned a little bit and gave him a thumbs up. “Good luck, buddy,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Syll closed the door, he began to speak about what was going on. “I don’t know if you heard about it, but Briar was sick last night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard,” Shadow replied. “I had spent the night over at Sonic’s place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? That’s odd for you, Shadow. Normally you’re more reclusive,” he said. “Change of heart?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tails had a party, I figured that it would be polite to visit and some… </span>
  <em>
    <span>interesting </span>
  </em>
  <span>circumstances arose,” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll pulled the equipment from the cabinet along with the machine he used to assist in the blood donations from the corner. “Huh, I can’t imagine it’s good if you’re cooperating with Sonic. Don’t tell me it’s another big threat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so,” Shadow replied, sitting up in the patient’s seat. “It should be manageable, no need to involve yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, that’s the sort of talk I would expect from someone who was hiding something,” Syll said. He held the edges of a sealed disinfectant pad and pulled slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not hiding anything, Syll, you know that it’s not necessary to call in the big guns.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so I’m a “big gun” now? That’s flattering,” Syll said, turning around. “Alright, I need your arm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked down and sighed before holding out his right arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?” Syll asked. “Normally you start with the left, in case I miss,” Syll said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The black hedgehog paused. “I just… trust that you can get it right,” he said. “You don’t exactly have the shaky hands of an old man now, do you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll laughed. “I suppose not,” he said. “Shadow, why are you staring at your arm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’re going to put it in, right?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll frowned. “Y-Yes, right,” he said. He heard the familiar sharp inhale as Shadow felt the cold metal pierce his vein. “Okay, you know what to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow raised his other arm. “You said you had to give me a test for my panic attacks?” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s a lot simpler than I thought it would be, I can do it with a bit of the blood from the donation. Oh, and I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to be taking six weeks worth instead of four,” he added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t you have told me that </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>you poked me?” Shadow asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t have let me take the sample if I didn’t,” Syll said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” he said. “Even so, perhaps honesty would be a better color on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better than violet?” Syll said. “Please, there aren’t a lot of better colors. Then again, I’m sure you’d disagree.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stayed quiet. The hybrid paused as he watched the blood donation reach its limit. “Are… are you okay?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… fine,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you don’t really talk about it, but I’m supposed to be your GP. If there’s something you need then--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it isn’t that. There’s just… there is something going on but I don’t think I can talk about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it about the panic attacks?” the medic asked. “Don’t worry, I’ve been tracking your levels, remember?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Shadow asked. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>a vital part of Project Shadow, and because of that I keep my notes as detailed as possible,” Syll said. “Your cortisol levels last draw were astronomically high.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?” Shadow asked. “I’m just as stressed as I was before. More so, even.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Precisely. I need to make sure your levels are under a certain threshold,” he said. He carefully removed the needle and sighed. “Okay, do you want a band aid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow was about to open his mouth. “I don’t need one though, do I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, no, but I figured that you’d like one since I got a few packs that aren’t the bland peach colored ones.” He turned around and fished out the package from the cabinet before tossing it to his patient. He then took a sample of the blood he’d taken and ran it through the machine behind him. “Alright, give it a minute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Shadow said. He looked down and smirked. “Space-themed bandages? Isn’t that a little bit on the nose?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were always at home in space, I just figured you’d want another taste of that.” He offered his hand. “I can always take them ba--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Shadow replied, cutting the medic off. “You picked them out and I appreciate it. Thank you.” He gingerly began jarring open the package.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic paused as he watched Shadow tear open the lid with very little concern for the clear means of opening it. “You’re inordinately fond of those bandages, aren’t you?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned and locked eyes before an embarrassed flush fell over his face, but he said nothing as he fished out and peeled open one of the sticky band-aids. He stuck it over the bridge of his nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll stifled a laugh. “Why did you put it there??” he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just feels right,” Shadow replied. His deadpan expression was slowly fading in the presence of the hybrid laughing. “What’s so funny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, you must have had </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>had a good time at the party if you’re in this good of a mood,” he said. He calmed down. “I’m glad you have friends you can rely on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” Shadow said, staring at the broken box of band-aids. “Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll jumped as the machine behind him beeped. “Ope, looks like that’s my cue,” he said. He swiveled and tore the printed results from the machine. His eyes scanned down the page as he incomprehensibly muttered through the text scrawlings. “Alright, here it is, cortisol lev--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “What’s wrong?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re… low,” he said. “That doesn’t add up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good though, right?” Shadow replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, but…” Syll paused. “The half-life of cortisol is quick, but it doesn’t drop lower than your projected baseline. This is lower than your projected baseline.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “Well, maybe it’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, I’ve been studying for months now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>your blood. Cortisol levels like yours are found in individuals who experience heavy amounts of trauma. You’re showing levels similar to that of someone with minimal stress from life events.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow went a bit more rigid. “Let me clarify- maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>your machine </span>
  </em>
  <span>is wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll nodded. “Maybe,” he said. “I understand you don’t want to talk about it, but is there anything that happened last night that might have affected your stress levels?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow seemed to be sitting up uncomfortably straight. “I… I don’t think it would be good to get you involved. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll nodded and breathed out. “Okay, I’m getting a bit too overwhelmed. These results aren’t right.” He frowned and crouched by a small mini-fridge in the room. He paused and turned around. “Are you sure you’re alright?” the medic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll be alright,” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Syll said, tossing a can from the fridge over his shoulder. “Happy Monthaversary, Shadow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow caught the can and smiled. “Heh, you too, Syll,” he replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll watched as Shadow opened the tab on the can and nodded to himself. “Just as I thought,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t even notice that it wasn’t lemonade,” he said. He flicked his fingers up, causing the can to burst and Shadow’s hands to be encased in diet soda like a pair of cuffs. “Now tell me- where is Shadow, and what have you done with him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Syll, I’m right here!” he shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know his habits well enough to know you aren’t him. That Black Arms girl out there is a spy as well, isn’t she? Probably here to reactivate the cannon,” he said. He unhooked the canteen from his hip and let the water spill out as he grabbed Shadow’s wrists. “You have five seconds to tell me before I have to get a cleanup crew involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked around for a second. “S-Sonic!” he yelled, his voice cracking a bit in panic. He was cut short as Sylphic covered his lips in water and froze his mouth shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blue hedgehog kicked open the door and stared at the two of them. “Syll, put him down!” He paused as he noticed the bandage on the other hedgehog’s nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll paused and looked Sonic up and down before carefully retracting his liquid weapons. The soda spilled against the floor and began to fizz again as Syll moved a bit closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic squirmed as the medic examined him for a moment. “Could you please be a little less invasive?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is… fascinating,” Syll said. He looked at the black hedgehog. “I am profusely sorry, I had no idea that this was possible. I mean, some crazy things have been happening lately but…” he paused. “This wasn’t… another Eye, was it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette looked in from her seat in the other room. Blue had the entire stock of suckers in her lap along with a textbook. “Um…” she said, not sure of how to continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll nodded, trying to maintain a straight face. “So you…” he said, pointing to Sonic, “and you…” He pointed his second index before reversing them. “Am I understanding this right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The black hedgehog nodded for a second. “Yeah, he’s Shadow, and I’m Sonic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll clutched his head. “Is that what you meant when you said something was going on? And if that’s the case, who is the Black Arms little one in the other room?” He pursed his lips. “I need to write this down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow grabbed his arm. “No, don’t,” he said. “Syll, I really don’t like being like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t in any pain, are you, Shadow?” he asked the blue hedgehog.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head. “This entire situation is embarrassing.” He walked into the room and shut the door, hissing at his arm. “I’d rather you avoid writing it down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No wonder you didn’t know to ice that arm- you’ve never had one broken for that long,” Syll said. “And you…” he looked to Sonic. “You’re probably feeling a lot of the effects of Gerald’s old project as well, I take it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Sonic replied, gingerly touching the rings on his wrists. “I was surprised by how much of a buzz this is. I don’t think you’re supposed to feel like a firework.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did this even happen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were on the money about the Eye,” Shadow said. He opened the refrigerator door with his good arm and pulled out a can of lemonade. “I’d say it but I think the moment passed already,” he said, holding the can up. “Cheers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll opened his can and pulled up a few chairs. “You had me fooled up until the blood test, I’ll say that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, good luck trying to fool Bertha,” Shadow said, sitting down. “As far as I am aware, I should have remembered that you wouldn’t fool a machine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll sighed. “I still don’t know what that child is doing in my office, though. I thought you destroyed the Black Comet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did,” Shadow said, taking a long sip. “We just managed to accidentally avoid killing everything aboard. Blue was being chased by the Doctor and I managed to get some information out of her, but she’s currently under our watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm…” Syll stood up and opened the door before waving the other two inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed as she hauled Blue in, who had five sticks in her mouth as she continued looking through the textbook. Syll frowned and reached for the book, but as his hand grazed the edge of it, Blue let out a shrill scream and he immediately retracted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to take it from her?” Bastette asked. “I’m not sure how many fingers I’ll lose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic sighed. “It’s just… there are scribblings in that book from fifty years ago that are a bit of a happy memory and I don’t know how well they’ll be preserved if she drools all over it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette sighed. “Blue,” she said, slightly shaking the little alien. “You can either have the book or the sugar, but that’s a nice textbook that he doesn’t want ruined.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmmm…” Blue thought pensively for a moment before carefully pulling the suckers from her mouth. “I wanna read this. Or at least look at the pictures.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette tilted her head, as did Shadow. “That’s the first time she’s foregone sugar,” the cat said. “And to read, no less.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, they do have a lot quicker learn time than other creatures,” Sylphic said. “Although I’m not exactly sure how their learning works. Perhaps if she decides to stay with us I could look into it further.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue narrowed her eyes. “I’m not going to let you poke me with anything, terrestrial,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax,” Syll said, unfazed as he patted her head. “It’ll be more of an interview.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow piped up. “Actually, there’s something </span>
  <em>
    <span>else</span>
  </em>
  <span> I need to talk to you about, Syll.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic nodded. “I’m going out into the other room, my job here is done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I just came in here, but… should I stay put, or?” Bastette said, awkwardly shuffling aside as Blue followed Sonic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine, go keep an eye on those two,” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the door closed, Syll began setting something up. Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?” he asked</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Getting your fix ready,” he said. “I need you to bite the bullet, this is still a little experimental.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow watched as Sylphic pulled a needle and his mind went into overdrive. He recoiled a bit as the medic took his broken arm. “S-Syll, don’t just--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at me, don’t look down,” the medic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow hissed as he felt the pinch of the needle before it settled into a dull but constant heat. The feeling of a stream of warmth flowing through him was strange, especially since he didn’t really have anything to compare it to, but the best he could come up with was a warm shower on a cold day, but straight through his veins. “Syll, what is this?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m healing the injury with your blood,” Sylphic replied. “It’s one of the discoveries I made. When Briar went for soccer practice, she ended up in an injury that fractured her ankle. I thought that your blood was only good for staving off NIDS, but it’s so much more- the blood can act quickly to heal things over, just like your healing factor. You know, except it’s not built in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s been doing more than that,” Shadow replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Syll said, shutting off the machine and moving to remove the needle. “I’m not sure how you would know something like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Syll, Maria is alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow groaned loud as the medic harshly pulled out the needle. For a moment, the medic's eyes were mystified, but then he realized that Shadow was bleeding and quickly covered the poke-mark with a cotton ball. “I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked him dead in the eyes. The medic searched for some sort of sick humor in the hedgehog’s face but found none at all. “You’re serious…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “She’s trapped somewhere. We don’t know where, but she’s been having the same dream more than eighteen-thousand times.” He paused. “And the Eye seems to be involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll quickly cleaned off his tools and offered a space-themed bandage. “I know it isn’t your style, but I got them for you.” He clutched his head. “Are you absolutely sure?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t have told you if I wasn’t serious,” Shadow said. “But that’s why I didn’t want you to worry about us- you shouldn’t be stressing over it if your grandd-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Gerald’s</em> granddaughter, Shadow,” Sylphic said. The medic had a mixture of pain and curiosity on his face. “Where would we even find her?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She posited that Gerald’s formula could have worked, and that she’s… buried.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll sniffled. “Please don’t ever say that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh believe me, I was just as upset hearing it straight from her,” the hedgehog replied. “Syll, I personally think she’s on the ARK, just… somewhere. I don’t know where…” He sighed. “That’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>other </span>
  </em>
  <span>reason I didn’t want to tell you. I don’t want you going on a wild goose chase.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and you weren’t planning to?” Sylphic asked, shooting him a pained grin. “Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sylphic, I don’t want you to get your hopes up and then not find her. I know she’s alive, but I don’t know her location. She could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He pursed his lips. “Right now, we have a bigger problem on our plate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bigger than finding Maria?” Syll asked. “You can’t be serious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doom is back, Syll, and he’s going to use the laser,” Shadow said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhhoot…” Syll said. His eyes became worried. “That is the <em>opposite</em> of good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I might have disabled the protocol, but that doesn’t prevent them from using the Cannon,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, obviously. They’re taking as many Emeralds as they can get their hands on up there,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys!” Bastette shouted from the other room, but the two of them weren’t completely aware as they continued to get frantic. The door muffled the sound from outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s even worse,” Sylphic said. “It’s disabled, not removed. If they get all seven, they could find a way to reactivate the collision program.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow bit his lip. “Why couldn’t you remove it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imagine trying to remove a tumor from the center of someone’s brain. Now do it. That’s how difficult it is,” the hybrid replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys!” the cat called again, this time a little louder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the good news is that they only have three,” Shadow said, standing up to get the door. He heard Bastette the second time and her tone wasn’t very optimistic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s still enough for a precision strike of everything within a five-mile radius,” Syll said. He stood up and began gathering his gear. “I’m going with you, we need to get up there before things get any worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette tore open the door. Blue was still quietly reading, and Sonic was missing. “Yeah, about that,” she said. “A Black Arms soldier managed to take the rest of the Emeralds. Things just got worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Syll nodded and downed the rest of his lemonade before gathering his kit. “Shadow, let’s go,” he said. “We have a world to save.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Shadows on the Moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Maria decides to uncover the truth for herself, meanwhile Nyx comes to a horrifying conclusion about the Eyes that have revealed themselves.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Another iteration. 18,048. Time of morning, 4 AM. Or at least, that’s what the colony forced its inhabitants to believe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria sat up in her bed immediately and looked around. She faintly remembered the last few seconds of the dream she’d had before. She sat up in her bed and looked down at her arm, and the number sat waiting, taunting her with its scratchy black text. “I’m still asleep, good,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pressed her toes into the floor and paused as the same cold from before embraced each digit, but before her body could force her feet back onto the bed, Maria bit her lip and forced her heels to the floor as well. She stood up, and though she could feel her body trying to go through the motions of the past attempts to wake by making her ankle give out, the young girl merely picked up her foot and balanced on the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy does it,” she told herself. “Time isn’t real here, you can take as much as you need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She carefully went over to the shower in her room and tore her slip away before hiding herself inside. The heat kissed her shoulders, and she focused on trying to remember all of the details she’d learned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow now knew that she was alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She </span>
  </em>
  <span>knew that she was alive. It didn’t strike her until she had a moment to herself how relieved she should have felt knowing that this wasn’t all that there was supposed to be after the bullet. The sting in her left rib pierced her for a moment, but as her fingers played along her ribcage she realized that it wasn’t real, either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of it was. Not the shower, not the colony, not her grandfather.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her grandfather. Shadow had said something about the fate of her grandfather. It was seemingly easy to understand, or at least Maria assumed that it would be if she’d had a more articulate speaker explaining it. Even with all her gifts, Shadow’s rambling in the midst of his own shock and joy was a language she had yet to master.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even so, he’d tried to explain it like a computer. The memory could get transferred, but that didn’t mean that Computer A was Computer B. While Maria understood that in concept, it seemed the hedgehog himself wasn’t sold on the concept in practice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered what sort of being her grandfather had created. Maybe he looked an awful lot like Shadow. Maybe he didn’t. There was no way he had more of the stuff from the Black Arms, not when he was imprisoned. But if he were locked up, how exactly did he even get the materials?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria frowned as she parsed through those thoughts. Her grandfather had been imprisoned. He’d loved her so much. She could only venture that when he lost her, he lost everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How he must have suffered those last months,” she breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She squirted a bit of her lilac shampoo onto her palm and began running her fingers through her hair. The routine was already out of alignment with the script, but she no longer cared. She only reckoned that if she were going to continue to go through this cycle countless more times, she ought to do what </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she looked down to her feet, she spied a stream of black ooze that trailed from her shoulders down to her hip and onto the shower floor as she scrubbed her hair. Her head tilted in curiosity at it- she’d never had that happen to her. There was no reason why that would happen in the first place. But the sound of squelching from out in the halls seemed to bring her mind back into a state of concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly toweled off and threw on the most comfortable pair of pajamas she had on her. At first, she wondered if formality was even important, but after reminding herself that nobody here was real, she nodded and reaffirmed that she was going to do what she wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She strapped on her tumble bracelet and wandered out into the halls, trying to focus on where that vile noise was headed. It was like the sound of a growling stomach on loop, and though she’d gotten sick over far less, the sounds made her nauseous as she tried to guess what sort of beast was roaming about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked into the kitchen and began mixing a powdery paste with water from the tap before spreading it on bread. She didn’t remember what funny name she’d given it back then, but she could identify what it was roughly </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be- sunflower butter. Peanut butter was too risky up here, not only because her grandfather was constantly on edge about what was part of NIDS and what was an allergic reaction, but because others on the Colony had deathly allergies that would spell doom if you opened the wrong thing within a particular radius of the person. Sunflower seeds were easy to preserve as well, so it was another easily importable good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she cantered away from the kitchen with her buttered-bread in hand, she felt the familiar chill of the hallucinations kicking in. She shook as the floor in front of her began to leak purple and black, and the ceiling and walls gained the telltale appendages of the thing she was so frightened of. She stepped back a bit and frowned as the edge of her pajama pants began to corrode from a drop in the ceiling, but as she felt the lukewarm wet appendages caressing her ankles, her fear was replaced by a strange and unnerving calm as she continued to watch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wherever the tentacles touched her clothes, it would corrode. But wherever they touched her skin, she was left unblemished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria nodded and walked through the ooze barefoot and out the other side, shuddering as the sticky soles of her feet squelched against the floor. She turned and looked at the strange mass and paused, wondering why it wasn’t trying to hurt her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of morbid curiosity, she stepped back into the ooze and stood there, kicking away the appendages when she could. At first, the limbs didn’t seem to understand that she didn’t want to be touched. But as she continued her quiet but frantic dance of nudging them away, their behaviour became passive to the point that their touches no longer took threads with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria nodded to herself as she stood there. Her pajama pants went from ankle-length to knee length, but otherwise she was still shielded by her matching clothes set. She pursed her lips, trying to understand why the hallucinations had suddenly stopped being so hostile. She stepped back out and turned away, and as she left the beast to itself, the ooze parted from her but left a lingering warmth on her skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl went down the hall and opened Shadow’s door. He was still sleeping on the bed, completely out and snoring with his mouth open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria sat down on the bed and shook his shoulder gently. “Shadow, are you there? Are you still asleep? I…” she paused, trying to make up some excuse for barging into his room, “I had a nightmare and I need to feel better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s voice was calm and collected. “You look cold,” he said, his eyes cracking open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I have a sleepover?” Maria asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “I missed you, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember what happened in the last dream?” Maria asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maria, I don’t dream that often,” he said. “The last one I remember was about getting red crayon drawings all over the kitchen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria shook her head. This wasn’t Shadow. Well, it was, but he wasn’t real. She crawled under the duvet and hugged him, and yet she still felt cold. He was cold, at least at first. But the warmth came back, and her body instinctively clung to it like a moth to a flame. The unreality of her closest friend was something she knew would only drown the moth in wax, but she still clung anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have to wake up soon,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I just have to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused as she felt a wave of heat ripple beneath her before her body sank into the warmth of the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or perhaps she truly was sinking, because as she sat up she found herself slowly going deeper into a pool of thick black ooze that clung to the sheets. She violently shook Shadow awake, hoping to jar him into a state of concern, but as he fully woke, his eyes showed a baseline amount of worry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to be okay, Maria,” Shadow said. His body was also sinking into the bed as he sat up and looked at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria frantically grabbed at anything she could use to jar herself from the muck, but as soon as she thought she’d found a good grip with the footboard, she felt Shadow’s hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that his fingers were dripping with the same ooze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maria, don’t struggle,” he said. His voice was pitchy, a far cry from the grumbling mess he normally was upon waking. “If you struggle, he’ll hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who… where’s Shadow? Who are you?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow covered her mouth as his eyes went dark. “Shhh… Father… isn’t done with you… he still has something… for you… if you obey…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria panicked as the ooze reached her neck. “Shadow, Doom, whoever you are… please let me go! Let me go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The goopy black figure that stood over her shot her a grin. “In time, Maria, in time. But you still have something to offer us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria’s mouth dipped under the dense puddle, and she coughed as she tried and failed to open her mouth. As the facsimile Shadow melted away, she raggedly tried to keep her head above water as her nose blew sticky bubbles of ooze. As if the gunk had become as clear as water, she caught sight of the giant black gem pulsating at the core of the colony a mile below her like a tumor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What did they want with her? What were they going to do to her?: Where was she? As the questions swarmed, she could see a faint white flicker in the oil-slick slime in the bed, but as she turned her head up to see who was there, her stomach contracted, and she felt the nausea return.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she coughed up black ooze, she realized she was free again, back in the shower on all fours, trying to rid her body of the disgusting liquid that seemed ready and willing to tear her apart from the inside out. But after a moment of hacking, she shakily stood up and looked down into the drain, where the ooze drained away. The lights were bright and the steam was still steady, and the scent of lilac was bleeding back into her reality again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blearly-eyed, she cracked open the shower door and took a look at the time; 4:15 AM. She had barely made a dent in the mystery of why she was still asleep. Maria looked down and took note of her wrist: 18,049.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She toweled herself off and went to get the set of pajamas. They were clean and untattered, like she’d never left the room. She grimly nodded, and threw them on before wandering out into the halls again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now she had to know. For Shadow. For his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For herself.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Sonic was doing his best to comfort Tails as she held one of her tails to her face. She looked exhausted from whatever scuffle had gone down as she laid on the workshop floor, using all of her extra energy to prop herself up. He could see the singe marks and the small tufts of fur that had fallen to the floor and it made his blood boil. But even with him as livid as this, he crushed the anger beneath his need to be a good big brother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gently walked over and offered his hand, to which Tails nodded. Upon closer inspection, she appeared to be shaking, but had fortunately made it out with less scrapes than she thought she should have had. As she pulled herself upright though, Sonic noticed that she was a little spacy, and he stopped her from walking forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gently, he put his arm behind her knees and lifted her up, “Easy, pal,” he said. “You look shocked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in shock,” Tails replied. “I can’t feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>either </span>
  </em>
  <span>of my tails.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Sonic said, embarrassed that he’d chosen the most obvious words. “Are you… gonna be alright?” he asked, moving into the living quarters of her workshop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded slowly. “I think that if I’m gonna come with, I need to avoid flying,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeesh,” Sonic said. “I can’t imagine being made to be less fast,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails grinned. “I thought that being Shadow was something that bothered you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean he’s fast, just not </span>
  <em>
    <span>as </span>
  </em>
  <span>fast,” Sonic replied, setting Tails on the couch nearby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said “less fast”, so this situation would qualify,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic frowned. “Okay, please change the subject,” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails grinned. “Alright, alright,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier, I caught him just as he was taking the Emeralds. I just turned around when I heard the slightest clatter and he was there,” she said. “He has the same powers that Blue has and then some. That’s why my tails are so messed up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic held up a finger. “Wait one sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the hedgehog dashed into the kitchen for an ice pack, he began to ponder precisely what Tails was thinking just leaving the Emeralds out in the open like that. There was no way that she’d be so careless. Yes, she was a kid, but she behaved and planned so many things ahead that just handing the Black Arms the recipe for killing everyone wasn’t in character for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tails, you wouldn’t have happened to put decoys in there, did you?” he asked. “I don’t wanna assume anything, but just giving them four more Emeralds seems way too easy for them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sonic,” Tails said. Her voice was still shaking. “Do you have the ice pack yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic searched through the freezer. “I don’t see any, can I use one of these food bags?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Frozen peas, please,” the fox said. She grunted for a moment before settling down. “Yep, now the pain’s coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic skated back to her side and handed her the peas. “Thanks,” she said. “I take it the others are on their way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I don’t know what’s taking them so long. I mean, those goons could fire any minute,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails’ eyes shifted downwards, and she paused before letting out a tear. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t cry,” Sonic said, kneeling closer. “I mean, if you need to cry then cry but… oh geez,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, trying his best not to move her in any way that would hurt her tails. “I don’t think he’d let you do this but I also don’t think he’d blame you, so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails buried her face in the white patch of fur and let out a single long wail that lasted a good fifteen to twenty seconds before parting. “I tried to keep them away, I just…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tails, it’s alright, don’t beat yourself up over it,” he said. “We’ll get there before they know what hit ‘em.” He shot Tails a thumbs up, which looked not quite as vibrant on Shadow’s body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails chuckled. “Even when you’re stuck being Mr. Gloomy, you still try to shine, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else would I do?” Sonic said. “Being mopey isn’t my style.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, last night begged to differ,” Tails prodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, who was crying into </span>
  <em>
    <span>whose </span>
  </em>
  <span>chest just a second ago?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright, I get it, we both have downer moments.” She sighed. “Sonic, I seriously had all four Emeralds in there. I’m not joking around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geez, then I guess we’ll have to forget about all the legal stuff and just book it, huh?” he asked. “How are we gonna get up to the ARK?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I did what I could after I got off the call and finally got through to Briggs. I’m so glad I have brownie points with that guy, otherwise we wouldn’t have a ride coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And did you tell them about the Emeralds?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did, I’m not going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>report a threat to international security to the United Federation if they made enemies with the Black Arms. Their involvement last year painted a target on their back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, are we gonna have to deal with troops? You know what happened last time, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They chased you down with a truck, they chased </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>down with cars </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> aircraft, and they didn’t tell their own citizens the details about a giant Bernal sphere in the sky that anybody with a basic telescope should have been able to see for themselves? Yes, I’m aware that they’ve got a screw or two loose, but that’s on a general scale, not on individuals,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still didn’t answer my question; are we gonna have to deal with troops?” he asked again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That depends- are you and Shadow going to fight this?” she asked. “It’s a tall order.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I can’t talk for Shadow, but I know I’m not gonna back down. And he’s not gonna back down.” He grinned. “If it means saving the world, you know I’m gonna be game.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “Then G.U.N. will only have the troops come in as a failsafe.” She looked towards the door. “We have a visitor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic glided to the door and opened to see Sylphic. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Only</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sylphic. “Hey, what gives? Where’s everyone else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re on their way, they just have to make a detour.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Nyx breathed out as she stared at the mural. Two gems, glittering in the light of the glowing mushroom cavern that surrounded her, seemed to leer at the moth. The young girl swallowed the bile in her throat and sat down, cross-legged, in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good evening,” she said. “Care to address your crimes? Give up the souls that don’t belong to you?” She held up her hands and listened to the voices in the wall that echoed like the inside of her skull was made of brass. The gold eye above Nyx’s forehead gleamed in the cave as she leaned in closer. “Speak, cowards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aria glinted. “As if I’d bargain with the likes of a puny runt like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Requiem sobbed. “Please consider her request, Aria, she’s only trying to let us rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to rest!” Aria yelled. “It’s bad enough that sisters like you would turn your back on our kind, Requiem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t my fault. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>fed him to me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bet it tasted good,” Aria said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx felt the heat coming off Requiem’s stone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You didn’t tell me it was him, you lied to me. You lied about this little war, you lied about everything.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough!” Nyx yelled. Her voice bounced off the cavern walls and drowned itself in the glowing pool as she panted from the stress of their hungry calls. “Both of you are to blame for his demise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could hear Requiem sniffle. A pang of guilt seemed to hit the young moth and she shook her head. She wasn’t going to bear the burden of their pain, even if Requiem had been fooled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aria piped up. “Shut up, Requiem, stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something useful. Maybe if you put your two brain cells together you can get us out of this place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx’s eyes narrowed. “You shut your mouth right now, Aria,” she said. “You’re in no position to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, look at Nyx! You think that just because your </span>
  <em>
    <span>boyfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span> meant so much to you, you are suddenly the moral authority? You chose him over your own, you have no sense of loyalty. They were encroaching on our land!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Their </span>
  <em>
    <span>prior generation</span>
  </em>
  <span> was encroaching on our land, Octave wanted to change that!” she yelled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You trusted the word of a feather-born lowlife like him? Have you no sense?” Aria asked. “Don’t answer that- it’s obviously rhetorical. Of course you don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx frowned. “At least I have the sense to try and stop you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After eight-thousand years? What a failure streak! No wonder he liked you. Only the likes of him would have such low standards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx stood up and pulled Aria from her lodging and held her gem tight. Her blood felt like lava and her body shook violently as her grip began to tighten more and more. She wasn’t truly touching her gem- she never was, there was always a barrier of magic between the crystalline surface and her skin- but even with that safety measure in place, she felt the heat of Aria’s own force radiating down her arm. She swallowed hard but continued to get tighter with her hold on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what’s this? You’re finally going to kill your sister?” Aria said. “Go ahead, I dare you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, the moth considered it. She considered erasing the biggest bully in her life. She considered ending it right here, right now. But instead Nyx frowned, and a tear slid down her cheek as she placed the gem back in its perch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coward,” Aria said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Being principled isn’t cowardice,” Nyx bitterly spat. “But if you insist on calling me that…” She paused to catch her breath. “I’d rather be a coward than a killer like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She noticed that Requiem had stopped sobbing and had gone quiet. She was about to open her mouth when the sound of shuffling footsteps caught her attention. The moth turned quickly and held her hand up, prepared to take a shot and whatever was behind her. “Who’s there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax,” a calm voice said. “It’s just us.” From the only entrance came a familiar orange cat, followed by Sonic and a strange creature that clung to his leg. Awkwardly the hedgehog tried to shuffle, and his expression seemed… wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx eyed him first as a familiar feeling swirled in her gut. “Wait a minute, don’t move.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The hedgehog moves away from the other two,” she said, flicking her patiently loaded hand like a weapon. Bastette nodded, and as she took the little alien’s hand she tried to hide a smile as said entity attempted to escape back to the person she wanted to cling to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic moved about twelve paces before Nyx lowered her hand slightly. She approached the hedgehog carefully before she took a glance at him. “You’ve been affected by an Eye,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blue hedgehog looked side to side before sighing in relief. “Oh thank goodness, I don’t think I could act in front of you if my life depended on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, the first ten seconds had me fooled,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” the hedgehog said, his voice cracking slightly in surprise. He covered his mouth with his hand as he heard the crack echo through the grotto.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx chuckled, trying to set aside the immense anger she’d felt moments before their arrival. “No, Shadow,” she said. “Sonic leads with one foot, you lead with the other. Your walk isn’t as bouncy, either. Also, those details don’t matter because I can sense the Eye’s influence on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we come back?” Bastette said. “Blue wants to hug him again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t, I just need body heat and your clothes get in the way,” Blue replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Nyx said. “I was worried that it was worse, but at least you’re safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as Bastette let go of Blue, she bolted across the cavern floor. As she connected with Shadow, her shoulder brushed Nyx, who suddenly stood upright with a worried expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette furrowed. “What’s the matter? she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx was busy processing the sounds that were echoing in her head- a chorus of members, thousands of them. Most were ghosts of voices, lost to time and almost certainly dead. But those that rang out the loudest were strong and vibrant. They sounded cold like the grave, and had Nyx not known better, she would have believed they were dead too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the very center of the concert of wails, the glass-breaking pitch that sung out over the lonely sea of despair in the vision only got two words in before she was muffled- a swift and sharp “help me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx forced herself to converse. “There’s a second one,” she said. “How?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “We were somehow connected in the Dreamscape,” he said. “That’s where I found out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The way it behaves,” she said. “How did you discover it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette stepped in. “Tails did some notes and concluded that it’s tied to the Black Arms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that doesn’t exactly give me all that much to go after,” she said. “How does it control its victims?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s the right phrasing, but Black Doom had a Hivemind,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx nodded. “Alright, that narrows it down to… one. Just one.” She did her best to hold back her fear as she spoke the word. “Concerto. The Eye’s name- the epithet she stole- is Concerto. She lives vicariously through others and takes credit for their deeds. She did long ago as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Nyx swore she could hear Aria laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, why is that information useful?” Bastette asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you need to know what you’re up against,” she said. “I don’t know if you remember how tough Aria is, but she was one to do everything herself. Concerto will use whatever and whoever she wants if it means meeting her goals.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shuddered. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Father would never…” She paused. “No, you’re right, he totally would. I just… I don’t wanna believe it, that possibility is scary. It would be so much easier to believe that he- or rather, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she-</span>
  </em>
  <span> cared because life would be so much more simple.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much control does she have over you?” Nyx asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… if she wanted to, she could listen in and even incapacitate me,” she said. “I… I’m scared.” She hugged Shadow’s leg. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx watched as the hedgehog squirmed slightly before breathing in and placing a hand down on her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be alright Blue, I made a promise,” he said. He shot her the best grin he could, hoping for the best. Thankfully, it seemed she was willing to accept something even if to the other girls it was nowhere near convincing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What promise is that?” Nyx asked, trying to clear her head as it swarmed with more voices. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to borrow the Sapphire,” Shadow said. “She has a memory that she needs back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx paused. She wasn’t sure how safe that option was, but her instincts told her to at least speak to Requiem. “Give me just a moment, please. I need to confirm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette raised an eyebrow. “With your sisters?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>sister,” Nyx explained. “The other one has no say in the matter.” She held out her hand and beckoned Blue to join her. “It’s okay, I promise not to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue nodded and left Shadow’s side as Nyx guided her over to the wall. The moth sat down with her legs crossed and breathed out. “One second,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In her mind, she began to hear Aria loud and clear, harassing poor Requiem. Nyx frowned as she focused. “Silence,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aria turned her attention to Nyx. “Welcome back, coward,” she said. “I see you’ve brought a little guest with you. Finally, another host.” She cooed, and Nyx’s stomach turned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Requiem sniffled. “Just leave the child alone, Aria. She doesn’t need your muddy mitts on her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to have to do better with insults, Requiem. Or maybe you should go back to the hatchery,” Aria replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx frowned. “Both of you, be quiet. I’m not here to poison another soul with your presence, Aria. I’m here to ask Requiem for assistance. I know she’s good at that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I am?” Requiem asked. “W-Well, of course I am! I’m always capable, always willing to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need you to help this girl find her memories,” Nyx said. “Can you handle that task?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… then you’re gonna put me back on the wall with Aria.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx frowned. “Would you rather get passed from person to person so nobody can hear you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, but I don’t want her near me,” Requiem replied. “I’ll do anything, just please don’t put me near her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Running with your tail between your legs? You’re no better than the brat,” Aria said. “Wait, what is she doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Nyx asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s touching my stone but… oh.... Oh I see now…” Aria went quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx opened her eyes and jarred Blue’s hands away from the Opal. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked. “That’s very dangerous! You could get hurt!” </span>
  <em>
    <span>You could get so much more than hurt, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, it’s just a really beautiful stone, though,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nyx wondered how close Concerto was to stealing Aria away. “Shadow,” she said, jarring the Sapphire from its perch. “This is yours. She can’t hold it. I would wait until you’re a decent length away from the shrine to use this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette and Shadow came up to Nyx. The cat offered the hedgehog a handkerchief, and Shadow carefully wrapped it around the gem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take care of her,” she said. “She’s trying to be better.” Her attention turned to Blue. “Please go, he’ll be able to show you the truth, just… not here. Not now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Blue put a hand on her shoulder, Nyx felt the energy of Concerto’s control over her spike. She swallowed down the fear and played it off with a grin. “Be good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue nodded, though it was clear that the moth’s grin was a failure. “I will, ma’am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio began their exit, and Nyx frowned, wondering how powerful her sister had gotten to instill that level of power through a mere proxy. That little girl was dangerous as well as in danger, and she only hoped that whatever force had almost stolen Aria was not cognizant of her sister’s presence. Aria certainly was already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the trio had finally made their way out into the open air, they were greeted by the sound of a helicopter above. Swinging from the rope ladder was Sonic, grinning and holding a megaphone to his mouth. “Grouchy hog to handsome boy, we gotta book it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I thought he was loud without the megaphone,” Shadow said. He put both hands to his face to speak, only to be outshouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Less talking, more climbing!” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette grinned and put Blue on her back. “Alright, hang on tight,” she said, grabbing the rope ladder as it brushed the ground. “We got a world to save.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Colony's Core</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As Rouge and Akshi assist Maria in finding the Black Eye of Luneria, they learn a means by which they might be able to "save" Sonata and free her from the Garnet.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maria wandered the hallways, glancing around each corner in search of the beast in the halls. She was no longer relying on throwaway clothes for her attempts. Dressed in what she wore on that fateful day, she navigated the corridors like an expert sailor without a lighthouse. She wasn’t quite sure where the rocky bluffs of the beast were, but she could see where they clearly <em> weren’t. </em> </p><p>A whisper sent the blonde against the wall as she tried to avoid detection. She wasn’t by any means willing to admit how silly she looked doing so considering that hiding meant life or death. Or rather, whether or not the number on her arm would tick up.</p><p>She read it for a moment just to catch up and frowned. 18,137. She’d gone through almost 90 cycles between when she last saw Shadow and now.</p><p>She walked around the corner, faced yet again with the bitter stench of the hallucination. She didn’t even bother stepping through, as with a flick of her arm it vanished. She wasn’t sure why she had this power or how she picked it up so quick, but nonetheless she reckoned she ought to save the questions for when she broke out.</p><p>“Hello? Maria?” a familiar voice called. The feminine lilt of Sonata rang clear and clean through the air.</p><p>“Maria?” another feminine voice called. It was that bat girl. Rouge? The human girl had trouble remembering the name from what Shadow had said due to how many times she had upticked since then, but she was sure it was something like that.</p><p>Maria turned and called back. “I’m here! Is that you, or another illusion?” She cautiously drew her hand up, as though she could do something like fire a beam or suspend someone in space. At first it seemed normal, almost natural, even. But as she registered her strange pose, the two birds and the bat came into vision at the other end of the hall.</p><p>Akshi frowned and began to run towards her at blinding speed. He appeared to be staring right through Maria, and as the human girl turned to look at what the parakeet could possibly be concerned about, her answer came in the form of a spike grazing the edge of her cheek, taking a few drops of blood in the process.</p><p>The girl threw her arms up and frowned. “I’ve had enough of you!” she shouted. The mass of slime and spikes seemed to shake violently as she pushed her hands closer and closer together. “Stay out of… my way…”</p><p>Sonata ran to her brother’s side as he came to a stop. “What on Earth?” she asked. </p><p>Rouge concurred. “What is she doing?”</p><p>“She has power over the beast,” he said. “But how?”</p><p>“I don’t know, either,” Maria said, catching their conversation. She continued to press her hands closer as she backed up towards them. “It’s hard to explain, but I’m nearly at a hundred rounds of waking up in here since we last saw each other.”</p><p>Rouge backed up a bit as she approached, even though Maria was facing away from her. She could still feel the stab wound. </p><p>The human girl frowned. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what was wrong with me.” She clapped her hands together, forcing the writhing mass in front of her to collapse in on itself before she fell to her knees.</p><p>Akshi walked forward and offered a hand. “Interesting,” he said. “You have Chaos Powers, though I don’t think I’ve seen this kind.” He looked down at his hands. “I think I understand why my powers don’t work here now- yours negate positive forces. They negate positive effects like these hallucinations, and probably more.”</p><p>“Is that so?”</p><p>“I guess that would explain why I couldn’t use my own Chaos Control without permission,” Sonata replied. “Once you said I could seal the door, I was able to do it with far less effort. Well, as little effort as a lackluster user like me could manage.”</p><p>Maria smiled. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sonata,” she said. “I’m certain that with practice you could make it work.”</p><p>“I’m not gonna be around long enough to improve,” the bird girl replied with a cold stare. The human squirmed in the limelight of her frigid gaze before apologizing profusely over such a poor choice of words, which only made Sonata feel worse.</p><p>Rouge frowned. “Why don’t we get back on track,” she said, walking forward and past the human girl. She crouched down and grabbed a small blackened marble. “Is this…?”</p><p>Maria nodded. “Iteration 18,072 was where I learned this one. It’s not dead, just compressed.”</p><p>“It can’t feel pain, either,” Akshi said as he walked towards Rouge. “It’s a bend in the space around it- from its perspective, it’s still unfolded.” He held out his hand. “Can I have it?”</p><p>Rouge nodded and handed it over. “It feels weird in my hands.”</p><p>“It’s a creation from the other Eye,” Sonata said. “You might be capable of feeling the effects even when it’s not attached.” She paused before turning back to the human girl. “If you’re able to control it, then it’s safe to assume that the Eye has you in its clutches.”</p><p>“That’s why I’ve been trekking through the Colony,” Maria said. “I saw a giant black gem during a few rounds that we might be able to break, but it appeared to be at the heart of the ARK, inside the Cannon’s Core. I’ve never been down there, so I don’t know what it looks like. I’m not even sure if you <em> can </em>get down there…”</p><p>Akshi frowned. “A giant black gem,” he said. </p><p>“Sounds like the green one hanging in the sky above the city,” Rouge said. </p><p>“Indeed,” Sonata said. “But we can’t just stroll down there.”</p><p>Akshi and Rouge turned to her. “Why not?” they asked in unison.</p><p>“Well, if she doesn’t know what it looks like,” Sonata reasoned, “it’d be like trying to enter a locked room. Your knowledge of the space is like a key, and without it your mind will only stick to places you know.”</p><p>“You’ve lost me,” Rouge said.</p><p>“No, no, I think I’m understanding it right,” Maria said. “Grandfather told me some facts about sleeping when I had a really bad night terror. He said that every face you see in a dream is recognizable because you’ve seen it when you’re awake.”</p><p>Akshi nodded. “You can’t make new faces out of nothing- anytime you try, at best you get a haphazard blend of people you know.” He looked at Rouge. “You don’t even draw faces on a lot of the people in the city because you don’t tend to associate with a lot of people on that level. You don’t have the <em> key </em>to their faces.” He gingerly touched his necklace. “The police officers, the waitress, the dining guests… all of their faces were featureless.”</p><p>Rouge frowned. “But you said it’s possible I could build a space,” she said. “Couldn’t I just build the place myself and we can reach the gem?”</p><p>“I mean, sure, but you’d be building it off of what <em> you think </em> it looks like- you’d already have a layout in mind. Any of those blank apartments, what’s the first think you’d think they’d look like?” </p><p>The bat thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose I’d start with the same layout as my place.”</p><p>“Well, that’s the problem- if you build it based on how you <em> think </em> it would look, you will likely imagine the gem for yourself, and it would be fake.” Akshi paused. “None of us have a layout of that area, there’d be no bridge to reach the gem.”</p><p>Rouge frowned and her ears folded. Though she was lost in thought, it was clear that there was a loss of confidence mixed in. </p><p>“What if someone knew the layout of the Core? The <em> real </em>layout?” Maria asked.</p><p>Rouge’s ears perked up again as she listened.</p><p>“Well, then we’d have that bridge, no problem,” Sonata said. “But none of us have been there.”</p><p>Rouge clenched her fist and nodded, a fire relit in her eyes. She shot them all a grin. <em> “I’ve </em>been there.”</p><hr/><p>Sonic drowsily sat up in his seat. The aircraft had made a proper launch and they were still two hours from reaching the ARK. Sitting in one place was torture when he wasn’t tired.</p><p>He looked over at Tails and Blue, who were both sound asleep and leaning on each other. He smiled, happy that the fox, after the scuffle she had and the long night before, was finally getting some rest. As for Blue, he could see her eyes flicking back and forth beneath her closed eyelids.</p><p>Sonic focused, wondering if there was some way to hear what she was thinking. She’d done it before with him, after all. <em> What did she say? </em> he wondered. <em> Something about letting my guard down, maybe? </em></p><p>Her guard was down, after all- she was asleep.</p><p>He leaned in and narrowed his eyes a little bit more. <em> I wish I knew how this stuff works, </em> he thought.</p><p><em> Hello? Shadow? </em>a voice called. The sweet and airy tone was familiar.</p><p>Sonic paused. <em> Wait a second, </em>he thought.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Shadow asked.</p><p>Sonic shot up and stared at Shadow from across the narrow cabin of the craft, giving him an elevator glance as he registered the situation they were both in again. Every time Shadow spoke it sounded wrong with his tone of voice. </p><p>“N-nothing!” Sonic said. “I just… nothing…”</p><p>“You don’t need to look at her like that.” Shadow looked away for a moment.</p><p>“Shadz, are you feelin’ alright, pal?” Sonic asked. “You’re watching her like a dog watches a baby. It’s protective.”</p><p>Shadow’s eyes widened. “I’m not being protective, I just think you’re being creepy!” he said.</p><p>Sonic held a finger to his lips. “They’re trying to sleep.”</p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. “I can’t wait to be back in my own body. Everything in this one is uncomfortable. It’s too hot or too cold, it’s always raring to go, and it’s… ugh…” He laid an arm against his abdomen. “Is this normal?”</p><p>“Oh, that…” Sonic said flatly. “Yeah. I’d offer a heat pack, but I don’t think anybody brought one.”</p><p>“Are you always in pain?”</p><p>“No, not really. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and you happened to switch at <em> just </em> the wrong time.” Sonic cracked a grin. “I’m actually surprised you can’t handle it- it’s not even that bad.”</p><p>“I can handle it!” Shadow said, clearly defensive. “I’m just used to <em> temporary </em> pain that <em> isn’t </em>sustained.”</p><p>Sonic snickered. “It’s fine. Honestly, I used to think it was a curse. Now it’s just another thing I get to try before I kick the bucket.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “Yeah, I guess it is.”</p><p>Syll walked up towards the front where they were sitting and frowned. “You look ill, Shadow.” He peeled back his glove and felt his friend’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You’re not sick are you?”</p><p>Sonic beckoned him to come in close before whispering something to him. After a moment, Sylphic nodded in understanding. “Be right back.</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes. “What did you tell him?” he asked.</p><p>“Relax, I just asked him for some stuff to help with your pain. No need to get so touchy.” Sonic smiled softly. “What’s gotten into you?”</p><p>“I think you know why I’m upset,” Shadow said. </p><p>“Mm, my mind’s drawin’ a blank,” Sonic said. “Well, maybe that isn’t really right. It’s drawing <em> too many </em>things.”</p><p>Shadow looked out the window at the ARK. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like being up there for so long,” he muttered. “All alone. At least I was asleep for most of that time, but…”</p><p>Sonic could see Shadow digging his fingernails into the seat. He felt like he needed to be closer. This had to be hard on him, it just <em> had </em>to. “At least we know she’s alive, right?” he said.</p><p>“I’m not sure how long that’ll be true,” Shadow said. “For all I know, she’s grown old. She could be…” The nails dug deeper.</p><p>Sylphic returned. “Um… Shadow?” he asked. “I hate to be indelicate, but you’re going to tear through the seat and--”</p><p>Shadow looked him in the face. His eyes glistened and there was red along their edges, but not a single tear was shed. The medic frowned and offered the heat pack in silence, along with a tablet and a glass of water. Shadow quickly took the supplies and swallowed the pill along with a heavy gulp of water.</p><p>Sonic looked back over at Tails, who was beginning to stir. He noticed a notebook that sat at her side, and he wondered what sort of notes she had been taking, so carefully he leaned over to her and began using one of his fingers to slide it out from under her hand.</p><p>Her other hand shot out and gripped his arm. Sonic looked up to see Tails staring at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, voice firm but calm.</p><p>“I…” Sonic frowned. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”</p><p>“I’d love to tell you, Sonic but now isn’t the time,” Tails said. “It’s imperative that I keep these details private. I don’t think that you’d like it if I pried into your room without asking.”</p><p>“I mean, the one thing in there I had to hide isn’t a secret to you anymore, so…” Sonic pulled his arm back and sighed. “I just don’t get it, Tails,” he said. “I thought we weren’t gonna hide stuff from each other.”</p><p>“I’m not hiding it from <em> you, </em>” she replied. “It’s complicated.”</p><p>“It sounds like you’re hiding it from me,” he replied. His voice was getting a little cross. “I mean, I’m your best friend, right? Why are you going back to a month ago?”</p><p>“I’m not,” Tails said. Her lip was quivering slightly as she searched for the right words. “You need to trust me, Sonic. I can’t tell you, and I can’t tell Blue. If you think about it for a second, you’ll understand---”</p><p>Sonic crossed his arms. “You’re not making any sense.”</p><p>“Please,” Tails said. “I know I betrayed your trust once, and I made you feel like you couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t think about how it would hurt you, I only thought about how scared I was. But this is nothing like that- I am not trying to hurt you, I’m not even trying to slight you. You’re my friend and I’m certain you know how much I care about you. Please trust me, and I promise once everything falls into place, I’ll tell you exactly why I can’t share details.”</p><p>Sonic looked away for a second. Tails seemed really adamant about avoiding something. She was protecting her plans so strongly against him <em> and </em>Blue. It wasn’t about him in specific, she was right about that. But there was still something wrong about this whole scheme she had hatched.</p><p>“Tails,” he said. “You didn’t answer my question.”</p><p>“I told you,” she said. “The troops are a last resort.”</p><p>“The other question,” Sonic said. “You never answered that one.”</p><p>Tails closed her eyes and breathed out before staring Sonic straight in the face. “There’s no way I’d have time to put decoys in the bag. I didn’t think Retrograde would have come in to steal them.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you’re always thinking ahead,” he replied. </p><p>“Yeah, maybe,” Tails said. “But even if I had thought of that, I don’t have any fakes lying around. All of my fake Emeralds are used to power my inventions.” She gingerly played with the anklet around her left ankle with her right foot. “I wouldn’t have time to dismantle my machines to extract them.”</p><p>Sonic nodded. “Alright, I believe you.”</p><hr/><p>Maria frowned as they reached the hatch. “Alright,” she said to the bat at her side. “This should be the one. Rouge, I’ll let you do the honors.”</p><p>Rouge breathed in as she approached the wheel of the hatch. “Alright, I need some quiet for a moment.” She focused on the area below her, trying to remember exactly how it looked. It wasn’t going to be easy, considering she’d only been to the central cooling system a grand total of one time. But even so, she had to run through the set of circumstances that brought her to that moment.</p><p>There had maybe been twenty minutes to impact. Time had been of the essence. Tails and the Doctor had already done their parts in the operation, and she was next. She’d been told to flood the chamber with water so as to cool down the intense heat from the device that powered the Cannon. The central switch had been guarded by a field whose only switch was further back. She envisioned the pillars one by one, counting them like quadrants on a graph. “2, 4, 1, 3…” she breathed as she opened the hatch.</p><p>There it was. Far below them, in the center of the room, the black Eye sat surrounded by the field in the place of the button. Rouge nodded and grabbed Maria’s hand. “Hang on tight.”</p><p>“Wha--augh!” she said, yelping as she and Rouge fell through the hole in the ceiling and glided down towards the central control. “Rouge, you could have warned me.”</p><p>“No time,” she said. </p><p>Akshi picked up his sister and jumped through the hole after them, falling gently onto the floor. He approached the locked container and rested his hand on its surface. “How are we supposed to open this?” he asked.</p><p>Rouge set Maria on the ground. “Easy,” she replied. “We hit a switch.”</p><p>“But there aren’t any switches to be pressed,” he said. “Who designed this without a switch?” </p><p>Maria frowned. “It does seem a bit odd, doesn’t it?” She spotted a control panel by the container and walked towards it. “Here, lemme see if I can remember anything that might help.”</p><p>Rouge nodded. “Alright, you do that, I’ll get plan B going.” She jumped back into the air and headed up to the top of one of the pillars. </p><p>Sonata looked down and away. “I can hear its voice,” she said. She was trying hard not to look at the gem.</p><p>Akshi frowned and held her close. “It’s okay…” he reassured her.</p><p>Maria clutched her head as another error came up on the computer. “Oh no, I can’t get in! And… ow…” </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Sonata asked.</p><p>“This voice…” Maria said. “It’s… it’s frightening me.”</p><p>As Rouge glided down past the water that fell over a nearby hall, Akshi nodded to his sibling and moved away for a moment, lost in thought. He looked down to his hands and held his thumb and middle finger together. Gently, he snapped, and a spark moved across his digits. “Alright,” he said. “Now we are back in business.”</p><p>Maria’s shoulders raised up and she leaned back in nervous apprehension upon his approach. “What are you… about to do?”</p><p>“Relax, it’s just to ease your mind,” he said. “I can use my powers to synchronize with you. Between the both of us, we should be able to make the workload lighter, so to speak.” He raised his hand up. “Do you mind if I have access to your face?”</p><p>“Um… sure? I’m not sure I understand, though.”</p><p>“Like my sister, I can use Chaos Control,” he explained. “I promise I won’t take too long.”</p><p>Maria nodded slowly and returned to a more calm stance. The bird gently placed a thumb against the center of her eyebrows and his index against her right temple. “Chaos…”</p><p>A snap struck Akshi’s fingers and he stumbled back. “What was that?”</p><p>“I don’t know, you tell me!” Maria said. “I’m just as confused.”</p><p>Akshi looked at her and frowned. “I can’t reach,” he said. “I can’t reach at all.”</p><p>The human girl clutched her head again. “Give me a… wait, Shadow?” she asked.</p><p>The birds titled their heads before the younger one pulled the other out of the way of a large piece of the locking mechanism, which had now been opened. Sonata nodded and approached the gem carefully, focusing on making her arms impenetrable with energy. As she felt her arms stiffening up like the weapons she wanted them to be, she lunged forward with one of them, hoping to make at least a chip in the gem.</p><p>As her fingers touched the black surface, they bent back to their old selves, and she only ended up painfully slamming her hand into it at high speed. She reeled back and yowled before sticking her fingers in her beak, hoping that she’d be able to somehow make the pain go away that way. “I can’t break through to it!”</p><p>Akshi pulled up his coat sleeves. “Alright then, my turn.”</p><p>He jumped forward and curled his fist into his other hand. A green spark engulfed the fist in flames, and he quickly set his other hand on fire with it. It didn’t appear to give off heat or hurt, but the color of it bounced off the glowing gem.</p><p>He blew the flames out and grinned at the sight of a two triads of spikes that lined the joints of his knuckles to his hands. “Now we’re talkin’. Show me what’cha got!” he shouted as he lunged.</p><p>His fists hit the gem and bounced off, breaking the spikes clean from their perch and leaving Akshi with sore hands as well. “Great, it can negate Chaos Control.”</p><p>Rouge flew back in and landed next to them, inspecting as both birds were tearing up and holding their own hands. “What happened here?” she asked.</p><p>“They tried punching it,” Maria said, still a bit pained from the voice that was continuing to speak. “Rouge, the gem won’t stay quiet. Please… please wake up and find Shadow…”</p><p>“What?” the bat asked. “Why?”</p><p>Maria looked at her, and her tears started streaming down her face.</p><p><em> “Why?” </em> she repeated.</p><p>Maria covered her hand with her mouth and shook her head. “I can’t, she’ll… she’ll…”</p><p>Rouge leaned back into a stance as she watched the white Eye appear on Maria’s forehead. “I <em> really </em>don’t wanna fight you,” she said. She took a warning swing of one of her legs but brought it as far away from the girl as she could, simultaneously giving the gem a hard kick. The gem sent a pulse through her and forced her to fall onto her back.</p><p>“R-Rouge,” Maria said. “Y-you did your best, now let me…”</p><p>“Kid, you can’t even hit something hard enough to--”</p><p>Maria smiled as tears ran down her face. She stared at Rouge before slamming her closed hand against its surface. She paused as a crack appeared. “This… this isn’t its body?” she asked. “I don’t understand!”</p><p>Rouge stood up, watching as the gem crumbled slowly. “I didn’t make a fake or anything!” she said. “I swear it!”</p><p>“I don’t think you did,” Maria said, trying to maintain her composure. “Still, you need to find him before…” Her hand clapped to her mouth again. </p><p>“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do my best.”</p><p>“Good…” Maria said, turning back towards the gem. “Good.”</p><p>As she slammed her hand into the gem a third time, it crumbled completely. Rouge and the birds felt an intense shaking around them as they watched their surroundings whiten more and more. As the blinding light overtook them, Rouge swore she could hear something over the static of the ARK disappearing. Maria’s voice, the last of her words as the trio fell downwards towards the top of a skyscraper below, seemed to burn gently into her mind like the scent of incense.</p><p><em> “So that’s your plan, Concerto…” </em>Maria said.</p><p>Rouge let out a sharp inhale as her back connected with the roof of the skyscraper they landed on. She frowned and twisted a bit until she felt the pop of her back realigning. “Ugh, that was the worst!” she shouted.</p><p>“Yes, but… what was that?” Akshi said. “She could smash it so easily yet none of <em> us </em>could!”</p><p>Sonata pondered for a second. “Perhaps a negative and a negative would cancel each other out?” she proposed. “If that foreign body and Maria are both under its influence, it would make sense that the only thing able to penetrate an Eye is the Eye itself.”</p><p>Akshi looked up behind Sonata and gawked. “You… wanna run that one by me again?” he asked.</p><p>“You never listen to me do you? I--”</p><p>“No, I heard you. You just said it in the right place at the right time,” he said. “Turn around.”</p><p>Sonata looked behind her and stared into the hue of a giant green gem- the facsimile of the Garnet. Her breath hitched, and she hurriedly went and grabbed her brother’s arm. “I-I…”</p><p>“Shhh,” he said. “I know that you’re scared. Believe me, I don’t wanna lose you either.”</p><p>“B-But… I’m leaving you behind!” she said.</p><p>“If you aren’t ready,” Akshi said, “I can show you around town.” He looked at Rouge. “There’s this nice noodle place someone took me to, I’m sure you’d like to experience food one last time.” He held out his hand. “The night is young, but you aren’t. You deserve the best right now.”</p><p>Sonata nodded and took his hand. “That would be nice.”</p><p>Akshi nodded. “Rouge,” he said. “Your dreamscape is stabilized by the rose quartz you left. I should be able to remain here with her even when you’re awake. Not to mention that the city is held together by the Eye as well. Go contact Shadow- we’ll be at that place you took me to.”</p><p>Rouge nodded. “Alright,” she said. She walked towards the edge of the building and stood with her back to the open air. </p><p>“What are you doing?” Akshi asked. </p><p>“It’s how I wake up, usually,” she said. “It never hurts, it’s just surprising.” She opened her arms and leaned back, tilting further and further as she shot the now nervous parakeet a grin. “Rouge, over and out.”</p><p>The bat seemed to only fall a few stories before she stirred on her couch. “Ugh, that’s gonna be a pain.” She sat up, reached for her phone and dialed Shadow’s number. As she waited for him to pick up, though, she heard a faint buzzing coming from the coffee table.</p><p>Shadow- or rather, Sonic- had left his phone at her house. The nervous dialing kicked into high gear as she went through her contacts list. As each call went by she was hitting voicemail after voicemail. She paced around the coffee table in her nightgown. “Oh darn it!” she muttered.</p><p>“Hello?” a voice called through the phone.</p><p>“Tails!” she said, immediately adjusting her tone of voice. “What a pleasure! Is Shadow okay?”</p><p>“He’s fine, just cranky,” Tails said.</p><p>“Birds fly, the sky is blue, and Shadow’s cranky- that’s not really news,” Rouge said.</p><p>“Yeah, well <em> he’s </em>blue, too, so…” Tails added.</p><p>“You’re getting better at quips aren’t you?” she teased.</p><p>“What can I say, I’ve learned from watching the best,” she replied. “Sonic, Amy, you…”</p><p>Rouge paused. Her? <em> Since when did I have that influence on anybody? </em> she thought. “Thank you,” she said. “Bit of an undeserved badge of honor, but I’ll take it.”</p><p>“If you don’t feel you’ve earned it, then you will soon,” Tails replied. “Anyway, why were you asking about Shadow?” she asked. </p><p>“Maria…” She paused. “Maria Robotnik is alive.”</p><p>“I already know that. What did she say?” There was a crackle on the other end of the line. “Blue, that’s space food…” </p><p>“I don’t know, she just told me to warn him of… <em> something. </em>” She paused. “I don’t like how serious she was about it.”</p><p>“If it’s what I predicted, then it shouldn’t be an issue,” the fox said. “I can’t go into details, but let’s just say that saying them aloud might clue a certain someone in on the game plan.”</p><p>“Game plan?” she asked. “What game plan? What are you doing?”</p><p>Tails paused. “We’re on our way to the ARK. Doom is back and he’s going to use the Cannon.”</p><p>Rouge frowned and began heading into her room. “I’ll get my things and I’ll be at HQ in--”</p><p>“Our craft left two hours ago, we’re almost <em> at </em>the ARK,” the fox said. “Listen, make sure things are good with Akshi. Something is fishy here and I’m still missing a few pieces.”</p><p>Rouge nodded and looked into the kitchen. The Garnet was still sitting on the counter. “I’ll talk to you later, just… be safe, kid. I don’t wanna be putting makeup on a corpse.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am,” Tails said. </p><p>Rouge smiled as she walked into the kitchen and caressed the gem with her fingers. She heard the phone hang up and she grabbed the Garnet before returning to her seat. She examined it for a second before resting her feet back onto the couch. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” she said to the stone. “You’re such a pretty one, too.”</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Shell Shocked</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shadow has a hunch.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to GaySarahK for encouraging me to continue, as well as finding a great title for the chapter. </p><p>I wouldn't have written this much without her kind words. You are the best kind of friend and your presence is a blessing, Sarah.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The ARK was as cold as ever, and even more silent. Shadow felt a great fondness for this place once, perhaps even recently, but with how hollow the halls were, he felt as though it were no longer a home and simply a “house”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails gave Shadow a winning grin and handed him a device. “I made something for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this?” he asked, holding it up. It honest-to-goodness looked like a USB stick, perhaps a bit longer. It had a button on it in red, and a small and clear plastic dot that he could only assume was a light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic asked me to make it for you,” she replied. “It’s pretty powerful. It should scan for life aboard the vessel.” She smiled. “I hope it wasn’t too big of a gift.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smirked. “He didn’t have to bother with something like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Tails replied, “but I guess whatever he promised was something he meant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow felt a flush creep across his face. Sonic wasn’t known for keeping himself in one place, especially regarding emotions that weren’t happy. But he was surprised to have learned how principled the hedgehog truly was. Never had he seen this side of his rival- not that he didn’t believe he could make or keep promises, but rather that he did it so rarely in front of him. Perhaps that was always there, though, and he just never bothered to observe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said to Tails. He looked over at Sonic, who was shooting him a big grin. “You, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I told you I wanna see that smile,” Sonic replied. “I meant that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you did, I just didn’t think you two would go to these lengths to make the search easy,” Shadow replied. “I figured you’d… I dunno, just do a sweep of this place with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not how we roll,” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Tails agreed. “We do things efficiently. Well, at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Sonic said with a grin. “Don’t take </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the credit here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails chuckled. “I mean you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>give me the idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow glanced at the two of them- it was such a beautiful dynamic. He had hoped that one day, he could have that happiness again. Not that his current friends couldn’t do that, but… well, he didn’t see them as </span>
  <em>
    <span>siblings</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But thanks to the fox’s ingenuity, he had a chance at that happiness again. He thought of saying “thank you” again, but paused, realizing how excessive it would have been. Besides, saying it the first time was more than enough to get the message across.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over at Bastette and Sylphic, who were speaking to each other. Bastette had a nervous look on her face, and Sylphic, as calm as ever, was attempting to comfort her. Shadow frowned and walked towards them, unaware that Blue was following close behind as always. As he came closer, the conversation of the pair bled into earshot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure,” Bastette said. “I’ve… I’ve never been to space. It was already strange when we went into zero-gravity, but being this far away from my family…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, I’m certain that they are fine,” Sylphic said. “Besides, this craft acts as a massive satellite- we can still get a significantly strong signal to reach in the event of something as small as a phone call.” He paused. “Didn’t you text your sister to let her know where you were headed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did,” Bastette said. “I’m just afraid that it wasn’t enough. I mean, what if Briar has another convulsion? I don’t know if I could forgive myself if… if…” She started tearing up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue watched intently as the hybrid pulled a handkerchief from his belt and handed it to her. The cat sniffled and thanked him before dabbing under her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow came closer. “So, what’s the game plan?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Sylphic said that we’re splitting up,” Bastette said, coming down from her sniffling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It isn’t the best plan, but I don’t think it would be safe for you to approach things the way you are right now,” Sylphic clarified. “So you and Blue should head to the observation deck. I take it you remember the control panel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “You want me to plug this into the control panel?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic nodded. “Tails asked me what kind of port was needed for it, so I got her to tell me what she was making. The signal should be strong enough to cover about half the ARK, so… I got a workaround.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, lemme hear it,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic pulled out a notecard and held it out. “It’s the information you need to type in to perform an additional scan. That one covers the entirety of the ARK.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What sort of information is this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” the hybrid said. “I suppose it deals specifically with clearance bracelets that everyone had. If anyone in the last fifty years with a particular bracelet code was opening doors… well, there’s your workaround.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see. So if she’s up here, her bracelet would have recorded which doors she’s gone through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was the only way Gerald could track her movements fifty years ago,” Sylphic said. “Well, yours, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that why he could always find us?” Shadow asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow chuckled. He’d never known the secret of how the Professor was able to pinpoint them. Fifty years later and the truth finally comes out. “Thank you, this’ll make things even less confusing.” He squinted as he read the instructions. “You know, for a doctor, your handwriting is impeccable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks? I’m not a doctor yet, Shadow. I still have about a month of work to do before I get my ducks in a row.” Sylphic grinned. “Though I suppose doing a thesis on Project Shadow was a bit of a motivator for the committee to consider me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re continuing where he left off,” Shadow said. “Don’t act like you would have chosen any other subject.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh, I suppose you’re right. Even when there were so many easier subjects to pick, I went with what I inherited.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you two done being dorks? You still haven’t explained the plan,” Bastette said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“R-Right,” Sylphic said. “Well, Blue’s coming with you for supervision’s sake. Bastette, Tails, and I are headed to the central control room. We should be able to shut down the collision program for good as well as disable any charging progress of the Cannon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That seems like a tall order, don’t you think?” Bastette said. “I mean, didn’t you say that it wasn’t supposed to be reversible?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t, but that’s because it was supposed to actually work the </span>
  <em>
    <span>first </span>
  </em>
  <span>time.” He pursed his lips. “I’m certain it can be disabled though, which is different from “reversible”.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Bastette said. “But why can’t they come with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Blue’s a liability, for one,” Sylphic said. “She’s Black Arms, so for all we know, Doom could be spying on us through her eyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” Shadow said. “I suppose I should keep an eye on Sonic as well, then.” He paused, realizing he was going to be stuck with his rival for the excursion. “Are you sure he can’t come with you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette shook her head. “Tails said that another Black Arms member stole the Emeralds. She also mentioned that Blue was talking in her sleep about Doom meeting us up here. So if that’s the case, it would be unwise to add extra threats by letting them come with us,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t it be unsafe to leave them with me?” Shadow asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps,” Bastette said. “But you have the Sapphire and Sonic’s speed- you should be able to incapacitate them easily. But that shouldn’t matter- Doom’s influence is probably weakened by distance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “You’re right, I don’t know what came over me. Even so, probable doesn’t mean definitely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic opened his mouth to speak when a violent boom shook the facility. “What on Earth was that?” he shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That… that was our cue,” Tails said, rushing up to him. “Come on, he just sprung the trap.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What trap?” Sylphic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The trap I predicted would go off,” Tails said. “I still can’t say it in front of…” Her eyes glanced at Blue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say no more,” Bastette said, turning. “Sylphic, lead us to the central control room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“R-Right…” he said. It was clear that he was nervous as he turned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the trio left, Shadow stood and stared at Blue. She stared back at him. “I guess it’s our turn. Let’s get to the observation deck.” He began to walk in the opposite direction and he looked at Sonic. “You’re coming with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sonic replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Best not say that now,” Shadow said. “After all, the world is at stake.” He gripped Blue’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Observation deck?” Blue asked. “What are we going to be observing there?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we aren’t exactly going to observe, but that’s where I went to look at Earth. It’s beautiful from up here.” He smirked. “You’ve never been able to take in the world from the ground </span>
  <em>
    <span>or </span>
  </em>
  <span>from space, have you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nuh-uh,” the alien said. She scratched at the side of her face. “I hope it’s worth it- this place is like a maze.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Shadow said. “An old friend of mine would agree with you there. She was always getting herself lost in here.” His eyes were sad, but not as sad as they normally would have been, given that he had new information on her whereabouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look troubled,” she said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid not,” Shadow said. “I don’t know where she is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that handy little device you got there should tell us what we need to know, right?” Sonic asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t sound as certain as you did before,” Sonic said. “What changed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-nothing, it’s just…” Shadow took a deep breath in. “Maria brought up some frightening alternatives. I have no idea what would happen if I found out she’d been trapped in a place where nobody could hear her… like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. “Like the ARK?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow bit his lip and looked away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will find her, no matter how many places we look,” he said. He held out his pinky. “A thousand needles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded and locked pinkies with him. “I won’t give up, even if it feels like an eternity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, because I wasn’t planning on giving up either,” Sonic said. He bounded ahead. “Come on, we still have a ways to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smiled. “Let’s go, Blue.” As he looked down, he saw that she was no longer holding his hand, but rather scratching at a nearby door. The number pad was too tall for her to reach, so her fingernails scraped against the metal surface, unleashing a ghastly wail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned and walked over before grabbing her hands. “Don’t make that noise, it’s annoying,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I want in!” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked at the number on the door, then looked at the number pad. “You can’t go in there,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Blue pouted, putting her hands on her hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow grumbled. “Because that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That only makes me wanna go in more!” she said. “I can smell something in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow groaned. “Blue…” he said, fiddling with the lock. He punched in the number and sighed as the little girl ran into the room. “Okay, fine, we will spend </span>
  <em>
    <span>a</span>
  </em>
  <span> minute in here, then we need to go to the deck,” he said impatiently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay!” she said. She climbed up onto the bed and rocked a bit, noticing that the mattress, though worn from existence, was a bit springy. She rocked a bit more before standing up and bouncing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blue…” Shadow said with a disappointed look. He crossed his arms. “That’s not yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it’s fun!” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We shouldn’t even be in here, we’re wasting time!” he said. His voice was getting agitated as his spines flared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you so impatient about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanna see my best friend again and you’re fooling around!” Shadow paused as he realized that he was getting loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue shook a bit, but seemed to get the message as she began crouching on the bed to get down. As she turned around, her foot slipped, and she fell to the floor, where a loose panel made a slight clattering sound. She sniffled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow frowned and came closer. “Listen, I’m just sad. I couldn’t find her for fifty years and I just found out she’s still alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this?” Blue asked. She seemed unfazed by any of the events as curiosity took over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Shadow asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue pulled the panel off the floor and grinned. “This is where the smell was coming from!” she said. “It’s more sugar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head. “Don’t touch that stuff, Blue, I…” He paused. It was probably old, and he’d forgotten about it long ago. Or at least, he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried</span>
  </em>
  <span> to forget. “I’d really like to keep that for myself. It’s a collection of the last good memories I had with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue paused as her hand touched one of the cans of lemonade. “Oh,” she said, retracting her hand. “I… I had no idea. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… fine,” Shadow said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a liar,” Blue replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Shadow said, a bit offended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lying. You’re not fine. In fact, you’re even worse off than when I met you!” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic’s head peeked through the door. “Um, are you two coming, or what? I found the deck and when I turned around, you two were gone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow stood up. “Y-yeah,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Sonic?” Blue asked, looking at Shadow. “What’s this?” She held a gold and cream colored conch shell in her tiny hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow thought for a moment. “I used to hold that to my ear and listen to the ocean since I’d never been there before,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked at it for a moment before holding it to the side of her head. “Like this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sounds so pretty!” she said. “I wonder what it’s like there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe once we have your memories back, you’d like to go there. After all, you said you’d try to get away from Doom.” Shadow felt a smirk along his face. “What’s nice about Earth is that you get to live where you want, with some exceptions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm…”Blue thought for a moment. “Can I take this with?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. “Please don’t drop it, though- it’s the only one I have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” She stood up and walked towards the door. “Are you coming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded and pulled a lemonade from the space before replacing the panel. “Yeah,” he said. “Just had to get a gift.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After travelling down the halls thanks to Sonic’s scouting, they made it to the observation deck. The glass panels of the floor clinked as the Air Shoes on Sonic’s feet hit them, and Shadow did his best to avoid the strange feeling of dread that would occasionally wash over him as he looked down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Getting sucked into space didn’t sound like a fun time. He remembered falling to what he had expected would be death. After all, atmospheric re-entry should have burned up his body before he managed to reach the ground. Somehow he’d survived, albeit damaged enough that his memory hadn’t been fully intact.No doubt he’d probably lost body mass that needed to be grown back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked down at Earth. “Wow, you weren’t kidding!” she said. “It’s amazing! What’s all that blue?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the ocean,” Shadow said. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oceans</span>
  </em>
  <span>- there are a bunch of them.” He paused. “The way the Sun reflects off of the water in the ocean makes it blue since water absorbs red light.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s so pretty,” Blue said. She laid on her stomach and pressed her face into the glass floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic snickered. “Shadow, you’re gonna go to the beach?” he asked. “Mind if I join you? I’d love to catch some rays.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pursed his lips. “I’d just go because it’s nice to experience Earth.” He walked over to the control panel and plugged in the device Tails had made. After a few simple inputs, he ran the scan. The loading bar seemed to tick up slowly, as though the computer were stuck in the 90s. “Oh, come on…” he groaned, setting the can of lemonade down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we still have a few minutes, why not run the other scan?” Sonic said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded and began working with the inputs on the computer. Sylphic’s instructions were detailed, but occasionally he would come across an executable program that was off by a single letter and would almost mistakenly click on it. As neat as the penmanship was, Syll failed to mention just how frustrating the naming conventions of the files could get. “I swear, when we get off this tin can I’m going to have a strong word with him... “ he muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a loud beep before the list came up, and carefully he scanned through the list of names before he found Maria’s. “Alright, let’s see…” he said, clicking on the name. “The last scan of her bracelet was…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic watched as the light left Shadow’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It says the last tracked scan was fifty years ago, in this room,” he said. “So either she’s been finding a way to get around without ever scanning to open a room, or…” He turned and began frantically typing. “There has to be some way she’s gotten through. Maybe she has a bracelet from someone else, or…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he reset the search parameters, he found that </span>
  <em>
    <span>nobody </span>
  </em>
  <span>with a bracelet had scanned in over fifty years. As his heart began to sink, the sound of the life scan pierced his thoughts, and he looked at the results. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were two blotches- one down near the central control room, and one in the room they were in. There were no other traces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic walked up to him. “Easy, Shadow, you--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me to take it easy, don’t tell me to calm down. I’m trying to find my friend. I lost her for what felt like forever, and the moment I thought I had her location pinned down she--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I made a promise, Shadow,” Sonic said sternly. His voice lost all traces of joy and was replaced with a stern and steady resolve. “I don’t know what’s goin’ through your head right now, but all I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>know is that I’m going to help you find her. If she means that much to you, then that means it’s my respons--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your responsibility, it’s mine!” Shadow replied. “You don’t have to involve yourself but you do. Why? So you can be satisfied with helping?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re my friend, Shadow. Friends don’t let friends down,” Sonic said. His voice grew colder. “You better remember that well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow felt a shudder run down his spine. For the first time, Shadow could hear Sonic sound like something other than Sonic. It wasn’t Shadow’s tone, and it wasn’t Sonic either- it was more than just his rival. It was something behind him, something that drove the both of them- the sound of willpower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow wiped his eyes. “Do you mean that?” he said, trying to match his tone. “Don’t say it unless you mean it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” Sonic replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow was about to speak, when he felt Blue tugging at his arm. He looked down and sighed. “What’s up, kid?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here,” she said, holding up the seashell. “The ocean will make you feel better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow took it for a moment before handing it back and moving away from the control panel. “You’re sweet, but… I’m afraid it isn’t always enough to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what would make you happy?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow paused. “I’m not sure, but looking out of this window is nice,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue scampered over to the window and pulled herself up onto the rail. “Look, isn’t it wonderful?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose so,” he said, leaning on the rail next to her. “It’s a great place to start with a clean slate,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Blue asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, when I first went down there, fifty years ago,” he paused. “Well, more when I finally became </span>
  <em>
    <span>my own person </span>
  </em>
  <span>about a year ago, I guess you could say that I got a fresh start and I was allowed to do what I wanted, within reason,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to do that, too,” she said. “Look over there,” she said, pointing to a big storm hovering above the western side of Spagonia. “What’s happening there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s raining again, from the looks of it,” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue held the conch shell to her ear. “Listen, I can hear the rain from here!” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blue that’s---” he paused as she held the conch out to him. He gently took it and smiled. Maria used to do that- she’d see a storm and tell Shadow to listen for it. Then he’d say something about what he heard back to her, usually from the people of the country whose name they’d made up that week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, he swore he could hear the rain. There was no way it was really rain, but his mind seemed to make it as real as ever. “It sounds so calm,” he quietly replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Blue replied, caught in a trance as she watched the clouds pass over. “ It rains </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>snows there. Kamarkia has some lovely weather, doesn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it…” he trailed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Blue asked. “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did… what did you say?” Shadow asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know,” Blue replied. “I was just daydreaming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow nodded. It seemed like the ARK was a treasure trove, a place filled to the brim with a strange and curious color of mundane magic. He stood up and lifted Blue from the rail before carrying her over to a spot by the control panel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please,” he asked. “Stay there. I’m… I’m fulfilling my end of the promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he walked towards the center of the room, his fingers caressed the shell. He wasn’t completely certain of his hunch but his gut feeling was almost never wrong. He pulled out the Sapphire and the handkerchief around it seemed to unravel in his one free hand. He turned around and faced her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be scared, Blue, okay?” Shadow said. He looked at Sonic, who only smiled and nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-Okay,” Blue said. Her tail was tucked between her legs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow breathed in and held the stone up so they both could see. “Seven chimes…”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Blue Moonset</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As Tails, Sylphic, and Bastette reach the control room, they come face to face with Retrograde, and their battle leads to a horrifying realization of a major mistake.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tails frowned. “Listen, I’m sorry that I blew it up, okay?” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was three years of hard work just… ugh,” Sylphic said as he rounded the corner. “You should have told me on the flight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would have, but the Black Arms could have been listening in,” Tails said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you even manage to make fake Emeralds?” the hybrid asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a trick I picked up during the time when Shadow got released,” she replied. “They’re not as powerful, but a machine can’t really tell the difference. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Cannon.” She brushed off the Emeralds that were nestled in the bracelets around her wrists. “I’ve been using them as a power source for my machines ever since.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think what he means is how did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>find the time</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Bastette said. “There’s no way you could have pulled off making one from scratch in so little time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They rounded another corner into the control room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Tails said. “That’s one I used the ones from my--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, well… what do we have here?” a voice called. A tall but rotund figure stood looming at the central control panel. A smaller figure stood at his shins with his spines raised- Retrograde. “Your little setback isn’t going to keep me from crushing you like ants. And what’s this? The facsimile of my own grandfather, here to fight with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic grimaced and unscrewed his canteen. “I may not be him but I can still discipline you, Ivo,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh ho ho, big talk from a creature like you, Sylphic,” he said. “And you, Tails, I’ll say I’m impressed with pulling the wool over Retro’s eyes like that- clever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Well, I’m only gonna be making bigger waves from now on,” she said, starting up her shoes. The Straightwinds unfolded and covered her feet, and the Supercells unfolded, revealing a set of Emeralds- one on each gauntlet. “You thought I couldn’t trick you with those fake Emeralds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As I said before- clever. But not quite smart enough.” He pressed a button and closed the door behind them. A loud siren wailed before a series of clicks could be heard within the door. “Hand over the real ones, fox.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only way you’re gonna pry those suckers off her hands is by going through us,” Bastette said, widening her stance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly. Retrograde, do your thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t boss me, terrestrial,” he replied. He was clearly more put out by how much the Emeralds had destroyed the device, but he made a quick move as Sylphic lunged forward, an ice spear in hand. He kicked Sylphic, launching him at full speed into the Emerald receptacle. As his back slammed against it, his neck made a quick cracking noise and he collapsed onto the platform. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eggman jumped into the pit nearby and rose in his Egg Carrier. An arm descended down from the bottom of the spherical vehicle and grabbed Bastette around the ponytail. The cat screeched, realizing that perhaps she should have tied her hair a little better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, there’s a reason you tie your hair back in a scientific setting, cat,” Eggman said. He held her up to his eye level and frowned. “It’s basic lab safety. Otherwise, you could get it burned. Or in this case, </span>
  <em>
    <span>caught.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He threw her up towards the ceiling, where a fan was ready to greet her. She frowned. Gripping her long ponytail, she carefully twisted her body until she could get her feet to hit one of the parts of the metal frame that held the fan up there. Her toes grazed the fan, tearing away at the tip of the rubber on the bottom of her shoes, but she quickly turned around and launched off, directly moving downwards towards his craft. “Hey, jerkwad,” she said, aiming herself headfirst at the control panel in the cockpit. “Don’t mind me dropping in!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eggman barely had any time to look up and realize his mistake before she slammed headfirst into his Egg Carrier. He managed to leap out as it was sent careening into the wall before clattering down into the pit below. A few moments sooner and he’d be going right along with it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette dusted off her skirt and stood over him. “How’s that for lab safety?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on now, please don’t do anything brash,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Showing remorse? Please,” she said. “Since when have you shown remorse?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bastette,” Tails said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the cat turned around, Eggman pulled her ponytail again and brought her close enough to lock her in his arms. She kicked and shouted, demanding he unhand her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unlikely,” he said, gripping her tighter. He could hear her gasp as he squeezed. “The only thing you’re gonna get is a front-row seat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Retrograde stood there, stance wide and ready to pounce at Tails. His raspy voice rolled along as he let out a low and strong purr from his throat. “Not gonna lie, terrestrial,” he said, extending a set of claws as his tail flicked back and forth. “You’re just what I’d call a suitable meal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only thing you’re gonna eat is those words,” Tails said, lowering herself to the ground. Her knuckles touched the floor as she prepared for the worst.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Retrograde smiled and fired spikes towards her, causing her to leap from the side and begin skating along the walls of the control room. Fine yellow streaks marked her path as she went, and she knew there was no way that Retro could catch her if she kept moving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try to keep up,” Tails shouted, letting out a playful chuckle as she touched onto the ground of the platform and landed a punch. As soon as she came down, she was back up again, skating around the opposite wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Retro growled and tossed spikes along the walls before launching himself onto one of them. “Gonna knock me down?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With pleasure,” Tails replied, barreling towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smirked as he spotted her coming and hurled another spike, aiming for her head. “Dodge this,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails smiled and spoke something, but Retrograde couldn’t hear it over the sound of a strange warping noise that echoed off the walls of the room. As she vanished, Retrograde was left wondering where she went, only to be met with a firm kick to the back of the skull. He fell and rolled along the platform until he stopped beside Eggman, struggling to lift himself from the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just who do you think you are?” Retrograde asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Watts Prower, and you’d best respect it,” she replied, skidding to a stop on the walkway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Retrograde growled and pulled a spike up. “Eggman, if you’d please…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly,” the Doctor replied, forcing Bastette’s head to the side with his hand against her mouth. As Robotnik exposed the left side of her neck, Retrograde placed the side of the spike against it. “They say terrestrials are weak in the neck. It’s where the majority of their blood pumps to their brain, this side in particular. I’m certain she’d make just as healthy of a meal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette stared at Tails for a moment, though it wasn’t fear at all. Her eyes didn’t glisten, they burned with intent. Tails nodded, knowing that glance from Sonic- the cat believed that she’d do the right thing, even if it seemed to be sly or underhanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails swallowed the spit in her mouth. “Let her go,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First, the Emeralds,” Retrograde replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I give them up?” Tails asked, holding one gauntlet with the other. She felt sick even thinking about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want your friend to suffer a slow and painful end, keep them to yourself,” Retrograde said. “It doesn’t matter to me. In your state of grief, I’ll torture you until you give up. I’m not above it.” He pushed the blunt side of the spike against Bastette’s neck. “The only thing at stake here is your friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails thought for a moment before slowly collapsing the gauntlets. “No lies,” she said, setting them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Retrograde glanced around for a moment before pointing the spike towards Tails. “Now, kick them over here,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails carefully did so, and as Retrograde picked them up, he felt something slam into him from the side. He dropped the spike and the gauntlets and plummeted into the pit below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic dusted himself off. “Glad I can recover quickly,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eggman yelled as Bastette bit him on the hand, releasing her from his grip. “Yuck, you smell </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> taste terrible. Don’t you wash?” she asked, clambering upright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor grumbled. “You’re not getting away with this,” he said, grabbing both of the gauntlets and rolling off the platform. He snickered as he rose again, this time prepared. “Always keep a backup vehicle,” he said as levitated there, hands on a very skinny looking machine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a Segway?” Tails asked, trying not to burst into laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Eggman said. “It works and that’s all that matters.” He blasted a hole through the door at the end of the walkway and zoomed through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, that was disappointing,” Sylphic said. “I thought for sure I would get to use my powers more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tails, what were you thinking?” Bastette said. “You let him get away with two of the Emeralds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Correction, he has </span>
  <em>
    <span>zero </span>
  </em>
  <span>Emeralds,” Tails replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Prower, we just watched him take two Emeralds,” Sylphic said. “How can--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails pointed down at her Straightwinds. They didn’t appear to have Emeralds at all, but there was a thick and round section on the inner part of each ankle. “I had a backup set of fakes in the Supercells, and I put the real ones right here and obscured them using a simple cover,” she said, popping the round section open. “Ingenius, if I do say so myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, I’m honestly shocked,” Bastette said as she caught sight of the glittering gems.. “You had a plan C </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>D.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic smirked. “I’m unsurprised, but impressed nonetheless. You must have dismantled a few more devices than I thought.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, only a few. Though I’ll admit, I lucked out on the right colors.” Tails sighed. “It’s gonna take me a few more months to build another machine like the one I had to disassemble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, since I’m still not out of the woods </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>I have free time, maybe I could help?” Sylphic asked. “If you need me around the workshop, that is. You’re the boss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take it into consideration, thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… Watts, huh?” Bastette asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I didn’t really know what to say, so I just spat out the first one I was contemplating,” Tails said. “It’s not bad is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette smirked. “Don’t ask me for invalidation, kid. You know I like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails chuckled. “So I guess we did it, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it,” Sylphic said. He turned and started tapping on the computer. “Geez this tech is old. I mean, it still works- knock on wood- but it’s old. We can at least disable the collision program…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the hybrid worked on the computer, Bastette frowned. “Tails, is there still something you’re not telling me?” she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails smiled. “Nope, that was pretty much my entire plan. Here, you can even check my notes.” She handed the cat her notepad. “Try not to crumple the pages.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Noted,” she said. She began skimming through the fox’s notes, indeed finding that she had nothing to hide. Even her notes on what she’d heard Blue speaking about in her sleep seemed standard. Or at least they did until she began putting something together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bastette? “ Tails asked, worried about the expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get to the observation deck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Tails asked. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was an oversight in your work. Get the Emeralds. Explaining it would waste time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails looked into her eyes. It was the same fire she’d shown when she’d been threatened, only this time, it was clear that the worry was there. It became evident who she was worried about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails nodded. “Sylphic, we can’t mess with the collision program, we have bigger fish to fry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t it wait?” Sylphic asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“NO!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> the girls shouted in unison. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, geez,” Sylphic said, powering down the device. “Get the Emeralds and we’ll go.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ragged breath. Maria felt the heat of her own breath on her face as she whizzed through it. Shadow seemed to be dragging her through the halls. She was barely able to keep up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where had she been before? What was going on? It felt like the seconds had been bleeding into each other, but she knew she had to remember. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d been navigating with other people to the central cooling system of the Cannon. Rouge had known the space, and upon entering, they’d found the black gem she’d seen for nearly a hundred iterations of the dream. The black gem had spoken to her, and the thought of what it had said sent her hoping it wasn’t true. Her stomach churned, trying to find solace in the fact that she’d just woke up again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, though, she hadn’t awakened in her bed, or the shower, or even any of the municipal areas the ARK had to offer. Instead, she had found herself in the middle of the transfusion, right when the sirens had come on. Shadow had quickly pulled her off the table and taken her down the hall, hoping to find a pod somewhere that could keep her safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every room they’d tried was hopeless- either all of the pods were gone, or they were heavily guarded. She knew that the government had come to take away her grandfather’s research, and that had meant keeping anyone liable from escaping.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Including Shadow, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought to herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This is a dream, and he’s out there. How did he manage to cope with that feeling of escaping?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt the Shadow of her dream pull at her harder. His voice was less gruff than the Shadow who had invaded. “Come on, Maria, we’re almost there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Maria turned a corner, she spotted a small group of soldiers, two of which were hesitant and the third of which seemed content on doing what it takes to secure the rest of Project Shadow. He raised his pistol and shot, sending a bullet directly into her left rib.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria gasped as she coughed. There was blood from her mouth, but she kept running, now completely in a haze from how drowsy she felt herself becoming. She paused and breathed in carefully, reminding herself that none of it was real before running onward towards the observation deck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thinking quickly, she locked the door, hoping that she could keep them out long enough to call an escape pod. Shadow had tears streaming down his face- she’d never seen him this frightened, even if she’d seen this scene again and again. There was something wrong about it all. The urgency wasn’t anywhere as strong as it should have been, and by all accounts, the guards should have been trying to break the door by now. But instead it was eerily quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to stay on script, calling the lift and trying to get Shadow to understand that he was going to Earth alone. He didn’t want to, he’d begged her not to leave him like that, but she knew that the panicked feeling she herself was experiencing was the feeling of slowly drowning from the inside out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She coughed and smiled, bringing Shadow to the center of the room before returning to the console. She had to be strong. She had to be brave. He’d been brave for her for so long, the last thing she could give him was a parting smile. “Shadow, I beg of you,” she said. “Please don’t take this out on them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she turned to fire up the launch, her eyes spied something bizarre- the program on the screen was all wrong. It was a map of the ARK, with two small clusters of red as well as two rapidly-moving dots from different directions, one of which only lasted a few seconds before disappearing entirely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she was more concerned about how everything looked bigger. She looked around, trying to get a grasp on what was happening, when she realized her entire body was grey and red, she was no longer wearing her blue dress, and she had three fingers on each hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wave of memory hit her for a split second- the time she’d been in Doom’s grasp, the past 24 hours of evading the Doctor, the food she’d eaten- and then she looked up. There, standing awe-stricken as the seashell dropped from his hands and shattered, was Shadow, dressed to the nines in the same blue she’d seen him in before. “Shadow?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maria…” he breathed, stepping forward. He didn’t stop advancing, only slowing as he approached her. “You… I… I had a hunch but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue noticed he was shaking. “It’s okay, Shadow, I’m here. I’m awake. You don’t have to look anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were right under my nose the whole time, and…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhh, it’s alright,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smiled. “I’m so glad to have you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad to be… </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>dead, I suppose,” Blue replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow hugged her tight. “This isn’t a dream, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue looked at her left wrist- there was no number. “No, it’s probably not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow picked her up and hugged her even tighter. “I’m… this is all unreal to me, I can’t believe… how could Doom do this to you?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geez, no need to make a scene of it,” she replied. She looked up at Sonic, who’d gone deathly quiet. “Um, Shadow?” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Maria?” he asked, still holding her tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue watched as an Eye appeared above Sonic’s forehead and his eyes glazed over. “Shadow, behind--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused as she felt something protrude from her chest like the thorn of a rose. She felt the heat and wet sensation of blood trickle against her as she looked down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked at her, seeing the glowing Eye above her head as well. “I… I don’t understand…” he hoarsely said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue began to scream as the spike retracted into her body. “I-I…” She held her head. “W-why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s breath was becoming labored as the wound opened further. “Maria, don’t cry, it’s okay…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re… you’re…” she couldn’t keep her words steady as she coughed violently, trying to eject something that was caught deep within her. With a wet popping sound, a black gem expelled itself from her body and clattered across the floor. As it spun a bit, the symbol above Blue’s head faded, and she collapsed to her knees in front of Shadow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent job, Blue,” came Sonic’s voice. It was twisted and bent, and intermixed with Concerto’s songbird lilt. She grinned as she picked the stone off the ground. “You brought him so close to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t do this to him,” Blue shouted. “You made me hurt him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what if I did?” Concerto said. “It was all a means to an end.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And everything about being a vessel? That was a lie, too,” Blue said. Her spines flared as she glared at her deceiver. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There never was meant to be any other vessel than Shadow,” Concerto said. “I’ve been commanding everything remotely since before you were born, all because of these little clones of my gem.” She held it in her gloved hand. “Marvelous, don’t you think?” she said, crushing it between her fingers. “And now it’s gone- the chains that bind you to my service are gone forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow tried to prop himself up. “You used her… just like you tried to use me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And she did a damn good job, too,” Concerto said. “As long as you stayed alive, I could keep coming back, Shadow. And since you live forever, it was only a matter of time before I would have destroyed you. But as fate would have it, you had a run-in with one of my sisters.” She walked forward, pushing Blue and launching her across the floor before grabbing Shadow’s chin. “And now that I have your body, I have no use for either of you. But don’t worry, I’ll let you spend your last moments watching the torture.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow pulled himself up off the floor. “Don’t you dare… hurt Maria!” he shouted, drowzily hurling a fist at Concerto.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chaos Control!” she said, holding up a hand. He slowed down mid punch, and she moved aside. “Black Arms blood is sensitive to Chaos forces. I’m proud to have chosen them to use.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bolt of blue fire streaked across Concerto’s face, causing her to hiss. “Why you little--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue kicked her hard in the head, toppling her over before rushing over to Shadow. “No, no no no no no, Shadow please! Don’t… don’t go, I… I-I’m sorry, I was a fool, I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow smiled. “Maria, it’s okay. I’m not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re… “ She couldn’t bear to acknowledge the obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow cough, and a glob of blood hit the floor. “Maria, please… I beg of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked into his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be brave for me, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue nodded. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood up as the door to the observation deck opened, revealing a trio of strangers, each of which was primed and ready to fight. Or at least, they all were until one of them, the one with the violet fur, noticed Shadow bleeding out. He sheathed the water weapon he had in his canteen and made a made dash for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow…” he said, carefully propping him up. “Shadow!” He tilted his head back and listened for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow coughed hard. “Syll, way to make it late…” he wheezed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no no no no no…” Sylphic said. “Don’t die on me, Shadow, don’t…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Shadow said. “I found Maria. That’s all that matters, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! You’re bleeding out, and…” He frowned and pulled the water from his canteen, soaking his wound in it and slowly icing it closed. “Dammit, I shouldn’t have given you ibuprofen…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not, it made the cramps stop…” Shadow said, half-delirious. He hissed as the ice formed along his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s a blood thinner,” Sylphic replied. “I-I don’t know what to---”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow looked at him. “Stop,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow, I don’t wanna go crazy </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sylphic said. “It hurt the first time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just make sure you talk to Blue… she… she knows…” He paused. “I feel numb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because you’re in shock and you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shadow,” Sylphic said. The tears began to run down his face. He watched as Blue wobbled towards Concerto. “What are you doing?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing what Shadow asked. After all he’s done, it’s only right,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails felt a pull from under her as her skates became warm, and then hot, and then burning. She quickly tore them off, and almost immediately the Emeralds within shredded the metal and bounded towards Blue. The rest of them seemed to fling themselves from Bastette’s arms and towards the little alien as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic pulled Shadow to the other side of the room as he felt the forces of the Chaos Emeralds growing more and more restless. He couldn’t focus on the scene in front of him though, he was too busy trying to look for a solution.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m going to pass out,” Shadow said. “So when you find out where Maria is…” he coughed. “Tell her I love her, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shadow…” Sylphic said, tears rolling hard down his face. He could feel the trails they left burning his cheeks. “Don’t talk like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do it for me. Please. I beg of you.” He smiled. “Adios.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. I Need You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As Shadow dies, Blue and Sylphic go to finish Concerto's deadly dance of terror.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As Rouge returned to the streets of her dream city, she felt the air swirl in discontent around her. Anytime she felt something like that, she knew it could only be trouble. But as she searched for a possible cause, her eyes became fixed on the giant gem that seemed to drape a sickly pall over the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A blue streak passed her peripheral, and she turned to see Sonic. Well, the red eyes gave away that it was Shadow, but… something was wrong with him. For starters, he was clutching his chest and limping, and his eyes were wide as his mouth went ajar with what appeared to be labored breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly crossed the street, shouting as one of the blanked-out cars nearly grazed her. She kicked it gently and frowned, annoyed that even in her own dreams people didn’t seem to show courtesy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not that hard, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow caught her in his sights and weakly limped over. The bat thought quick as he flopped forward, catching him before he had a chance to reach the ground. “Shadow, what’s wrong with you? You’re never this sluggish…” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow continued panting. “I’m dying, Rouge,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bat frowned. “But you’re not supposed to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not in my own body,” he interrupted. “I’m able to die, and that’s what I’m doing- </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge shook her head. “I… I didn’t…” She began to shake. “This is all my fault. I never should have messed with the Garnet, I shouldn’t have--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Rouge,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Shadow barked. He grimaced as another wave of pain hit him. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You couldn’t have figured out this would happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I switched you two!” she said. As Shadow walked forward, he fell a bit, and Rouge frowned. “Don’t move, I’ll get you.” She tucked one arm under his legs and the other against his shoulder blades before lifting. “Don’t force yourself to walk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shot her a rare and gentle smile. “Thank you, Rouge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge smiled back. “It’s what friends are for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the noodle shop was two blocks down. The bird siblings were sitting inside, giggling and smiling as they spent their last moments together. Rouge felt guilty just interrupting their last few hours, but her friend was dying even faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed her way inside and shouted. The rest of the faceless guests didn’t even hear her as the birds stood up. The older one laid his eyes on Shadow. “This… this is bad,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No kidding,” Rouge said. “There’s gotta be some way that we can save him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, my abilities could possibly heal him,” Akshi said. He held his arms out. “Chaos--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop,” Shadow said. “Stop trying to save me. All of you. Things are supposed to die. I was supposed to die. And if this is what it takes for Maria to be free, then so be it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maria…” Sonata said. “Did she wake up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” the hedgehog said. “And she’s free from that wretch.” He coughed, and a bit of blood appeared on his glove. “If it meant trading my life for her freedom, I’d be more than willing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge didn’t want to lose her friend. He’d been by her side in dark times, and likewise she’d been by his. She didn’t want that to stop. Perhaps it was selfishness on her part, but there was something else about how he’d said what he said that was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is the most selfish thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she said. “How can you just leave Maria like that? Leave her the same way she left you?” Rouge began to tear up. “You think you’re being noble and selfless by passing away but you’re leaving so many people hurting the same way you were hurt so long ago. We need you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>need you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, though?” Shadow asked. “You’re a self-sufficient woman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re my best friend,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Rouge said. “Even if I’m not yours anymore because Maria is alive, I’ll never stop being your friend. You make me feel like I can be more than myself. And yeah, we annoy the crap out of each other but no friendship is perfect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow chuckled halfheartedly, reminded of the bumps in the road he’d watched Sonic and Tails tread over. “So you need me because I’m your best friend, huh?” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going deaf, are you?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh… who said you were any less of my friend?” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata looked out the window and nodded. “You three, let’s get back to the gem- I think I know what must be done.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As the gems fused beneath her skin, Blue felt the ripple of Chaos Energy crackle over her like fireworks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So this was the feeling Shadow feels without his inhibitors, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought to herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, now isn’t the time to ponder- it’s time to act!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She unfurled her wings and lifted off the ground. “That body doesn’t belong to you, Concerto,” Blue said. “You need to let it go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I? He’s enjoying himself. Aren’t you, hedgehog?” she asked. For a moment, her face broke from its unyielding calm to reveal Sonic’s panicked expression. Caught in the glimmer of that expression was an alarming mix of fear and painfully restrained emotional arousal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly, Concerto drowned the muffled shout of her host and tilted her head. “And what do you think you’re doing, Blue? Brazen disobedience will be punished.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid the only one who’s gonna be punished is you, Concerto. You’re not my parent, and you never were.” Blue rose a bit further from the floor as her grey skin turned a blinding white. “I’m doing what I must to defend my </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>family. I’m being brave!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto frowned and curled her right hand, forming a green spear. “You’re a fool if you think I will let you live.” She fired the spear towards Blue, but as the little girl flinched from the impact, she noticed that there wasn’t a scratch on her. “Huh…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto frowned. “Invulnerable. Fine, if you wanna play by those rules, two can play.” She unlocked the bands around her wrists and dropped them, and a shield of yellow swirled around her. “Chaos against Chaos.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue grinned. “You’ve made a grave error,” she said. Quickly, she charged up a firebolt in her mouth and released, only barely missing Concerto as she dodged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto pulled another Chaos spear and threw, and their game of dodgeball began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the destruction happened throughout the room, Bastette and Tails sidled their way over to Sylphic, whose tears were now enough to blind him. As the fox laid her hand on his shoulder, he tore it away and flared the short spines on the back of his head. “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me, and don’t touch him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette pursed her lips. “Sylphic, you can’t just--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can do what I damn well please, Bastette,” he shouted. “I just lost… my… my…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails was sniffling. She’d known Shadow for a few years, but though they weren’t close, she knew that this was hardly fair. Had the Garnet never switched them, perhaps Sonic would be the one who was gone. “I-Is…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic nodded slowly, and another round of tears fell along his cheeks. “I still don’t know where Maria is… he never told us. How will she fare knowing her friend is gone? I mean, I can’t comfort her, I’m not the grandfather she knew. Not anywhere close.” He began to tremble. “I can’t be the person she needs…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails gently put a hand on him, but this time he didn’t try to stop her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette shoved them over as a spear came hurtling through the air. She shouted as it connected with the wall, slicing off about half of her ponytail. As the hair sliced off, she toppled to the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails hissed and helped her up. “Your ponytail, it’s…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just hair, it can grow back,” Bastette said, steadying herself. “Half a year ago I would have hated losing something like that, but that’s not what makes me who I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails grinned. “Heh, you’re more mature about it than I would have been.” She looked over towards the fight and frowned. The windows were beginning to clatter, and she knew that there wasn’t too much time before they would be sucked out into space. All it would take was the right amount of stress to the windows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic noticed as well. “We have to call a pod,” he said, shakily standing. He gently set Shadow onto the ground and stumbled forward. “Keep watch on him, Tails- he’s still breathing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he came towards the fight and towards the control panel, Concerto caught him out of the corner of her eye. She threw a spear at him, which lodged itself in his shoulder. “Stay out of this,” she yelled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonic, can you hear me?” he asked back, completely ignoring the Eye’s warning. “Sonic, you’re not her, you know you aren’t her.” He grunted as he pulled the spear out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto fell silent but turned to focus her attention on Blue, who was spitting globs of spit against the ground. They weren’t in flames, so what was she planning to do with them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic frowned and stumbled closer to the panel. “I’m not going to fight you, Sonic, I don’t have any reason to---”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!” Concerto yelled. “He doesn’t care! Just let him enjoy this like I am, you wretch!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic stood up straight and began typing on the controls. “I’m not going to give up on you, Sonic. Just because it feels good to let her take advantage of you like this, it doesn’t mean it’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic’s voice broke through for a moment. “What if that were me?” he asked. For a moment, his expression seemed to reappear, but as soon as he had some semblance of control, he was shoved to the side by Concerto once again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic called the pod as he noticed the Sapphire lying in the center of the room. He looked at Tails and Bastette and tilted his head towards the pod, beckoning them to go. After careening across the floor to grab the gem and reaching the other wall, he tore open one of the panels on the walls and grabbed the spare materials that were in there. They were always there for “emergency sleepovers”, but the blankets and pillows would also serve as padding for the ride down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tails set Shadow’s head down and rushed to grab the blankets. “What about you?” she asked. “You can’t just stay up here by yourself!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not by myself,” Sylphic said. “I have to stay up here for Blue and Sonic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Tails said. “You’re not phased by the vacuum of space, are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The windows have about five minutes before they shatter,” Sylphic said. “The slurry that Blue is putting down is going to cause the gas in here to expand and break them even faster.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette frowned. “How are you gonna take Concerto down? We’re outgunned, and Blue’s doing everything she can to keep the attention on her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic smiled. “I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, showing the Sapphire. “It’s gonna be painful, but I know what I need to do. Take Shadow with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…” Tails said, wringing her hands. “Well…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic’s stomach dropped, but he nodded solemnly. “Don’t say it, please,” he said, trying to fight back tears. “Your hesitation speaks volumes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bastette grabbed Tails’ shoulders and hurried her to the pod, and the hybrid returned to the panel to prepare them for launch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue grimaced as Concerto brought a leg down on her. The shoes Shadow’s body bore were like bricks, and they could easily cause massive damage if she wasn’t in a Super State. But Blue took advantage of the contact and gripped Concerto’s ankle before flinging her into one of the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the dust cleared, Blue came closer to Concerto, who collapsed against the floor and panting. The gold glow around the aggressor’s body was starting to fade, and her eyes were wide with deep concern for the turn of the fight. “I can’t be beaten by you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You ungrateful little--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have to be grateful to someone who kept me prisoner!” Blue said, slamming her foot into the side of Concerto’s face. “You used me like a pawn, like a poker chip! How dare you do that, just to get back at your own flesh and blood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the sound of a pod escaping sounded from behind, the little alien looked to see Shadow laying down gently against one of the walls. Her lip trembled, and her eyes began to water- there was nothing left for her to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she looked back, Concerto made a connection with her fist and flung Blue across the floor, knocking her out of her Super State. She approached slowly, clearly labored but not quite down for the count. “Has it gotten through your skull yet?” she said, walking up to Blue. “You’d never be here without my help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had a guardian once, a man who never claimed to be perfect,” Blue said, struggling to stand. She wiped the greenish blood from the corner of her mouth. “He’s still more perfect than you’ll ever be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto raised her spines. “Then there’s only one thing I can do with you,” she said. She reached up and held a hand in the air, but something was off. There was a momentary spark of yellow, but little more. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue smiled. “Your powers don’t work, I can negate them.” She spit a line of fire, springing the trap and surrounding the captured assailant with a ring of flame. “And by removing those bands, you’ve let your powers run dry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto frowned as she saw a second figure beyond the flames. “You think that you’re going to hold me here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue watched the hybrid slowly saunter towards the flames, raising the gem to his forehead. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation as Concerto spoke, but as soon as she stopped the doubt left, and he closed his eyes, allowing the gem to fuse to his head. “M-Mister! Wait, don’t--” Blue said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” Sylphic replied, tears streaming down his face. “I’ve felt worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto smirked. “Well, this is a surprise. Look who decided to come back from the dead… the old coot who was foolish enough to let me give his research life. Have you come to be ungrateful as well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic looked down towards the ground in silence, expressionless as he examined what he had to work with. Though the globs of spit were definitely on fire, they were still liquid underneath, and he sighed. He raised his hands and began sliding the liquid slightly towards her, closing the circle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Concerto asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unjoin from him,” Sylphic said. “He might be impervious to most dangers but complete and total annihilation isn’t out of the question. Fire hasn’t been tested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto laughed. “I have your friend with me. You’re really going to let him die with me? I’m going to call your bluff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic moved the circle closer, and Concerto hissed as one of her fingers grazed the flames. Blue shook her head and frowned, turning towards him and tugging on his leg. “Don’t! She’s right, your friend is in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hybrid’s voice sounded hoarse as he focused. “Please don’t interfere, you wouldn’t understand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why wouldn’t I understand?” Blue shouted. “Maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t get it- if you hurt her, you’ll hurt him. If you kill her, you’ll kill him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She killed my son,” Sylphic said. His voice seemed foreign, but to Blue, the inflection and timbre was uncanny. Though there was a fire in his eyes, the gaze couldn’t be colder. His fingers twitched as his tears continued to run, and Blue nodded in understanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled his arm again, and his angry gaze turned to her. Even so, she stood firm and looked him dead in the eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wouldn’t think this was right,” Blue said. “She would think this was cruel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic’s eyes widened. “What would you know about her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know where she is, because--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto let out a blood curdling scream that rippled through the air and shook the observatory. The flames around her went cold and she panted as she stumbled forward. “You’re a fool if--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic flicked open his canteen and pooled his remaining water around her before pulling it apart into four sets of chains, each of which held up a limb. “You’re outclassed, and outnumbered. There’s two of us, and one of you. You’re powerless, you’re drained, and you have nowhere to run.” The small amount of water he had left was crafted into an ice knife, and he walked forward as he forced Concerto to her knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing now?” Blue asked. “This isn’t much better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You asked me to spare him, so I’m sparing him,” he said. “But Concerto needs to give up her gem.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto ripped through the chains and lunged, and Sylphic put up one of his hands. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Seven chimes…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerto stopped and clutched her head. “What are you… no, stop, don’t act like that, you petulant brat, you…” She began to shake as she collapsed on all fours. “You can’t leave me, I’m… in charge of… you…” She struggled to let her words out when the sound of skittering came from the vent behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic stepped forward and held up the knife. “Give it up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to rend it from me,” Concerto said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know how to use a scalpel, and I’m aware that this would hurt much more,” Sylphic said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Syll, please…” Sonic’s voice weakly squeaked out. “I know I’ll heal but that would really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hurt…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic shook his head and took a step back, dropping the knife onto the floor. “Concerto, let go of the boy, he’s not yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, he isn’t yours, either, Professor…” Concerto said, equally exhausted as her host. “We’re at an impasse- we both wanna play tug-o’-war with the body…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The vent popped open, and Retrograde rolled out on top of Concerto. Without instruction, he began feeling around Concerto’s forehead before digging his fingernails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonic let out a scream, and the windows continued to shake. Sylphic’s breath hitched as he spied a long and large crack forming along the edge of the observatory’s rightmost glass pane and he instinctively melted the ice knife and used the water to seal it over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Retro managed to get his hands on the gem, Blue lunged and began to tangle with him. He clawed and scratched at her as he held it to his forehead. “Game over, Blue,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a flash, the darkling disappeared, leaving Blue, Sylphic and Sonic alone. After a moment of shock, Blue went over to Shadow, who was still lying on the floor. The teen panted hard and looked at Sylphic, half grateful and half quietly terrified of his glowering tearstained face. “I feel woozy,” he said, wobbling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sylphic frowned and rushed forward as Sonic began to tilt a bit too far. “Easy there, you’re not used to getting all that energy used up.” With his foot, he stomped along the edge of each of the stray inhibitor rings to toss them into the air before catching them. He firmly locked them around the hedgehog’s wrists before gently reaching a hand up. “Requiem, I need you to let go. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though the rate at which the gem slid out of his forehead seemed delayed by reluctance, he finally had it back in his hands. “I’m sorry I frightened you so,” he said to the teen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Intimidation isn’t a bad look for you, though I think your color’s a little too chalky,” Sonic replied. He was smiling, yes, but the hybrid caught his mouth shrugging for a second. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dared not say anything, though. “Sonic, I don’t know how to express this, but… Shadow…” He began to tear up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait a second,” Blue said, feeling at Shadow’s chest. “Hey, c’mere!” she shouted, waving her arm.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As they reached the roof, Shadow felt himself slip through Rouge’s fingers and fall onto the ground. “Huh, what is…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi shook his head. “This isn’t good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think?” Shadow said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge tried to offer a hand, but as his hand passed through hers, it became clear what was going on. “I’m… disappearing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata shook her head. “No, no, you aren’t ready to go, you’re still…” She paused, and clutched her head. “Oh… I think I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” the other three said in unison. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never saw the moth who has me trapped here, did you? One of Luneria’s ilk?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow shook his head. “I never caught a glance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither did I,” Akshi said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rouge?” Sonata asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rouge frowned. “I didn’t see anything malicious here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps it’s just a theory, perhaps I’m a bit crazy but… well, there’s only one way to find out.” Sonata began walking closer to Shadow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m following my instincts,” Sonata said. “I’m doing what feels right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t know what you mean,” her brother said. He spun her around and grabbed her shoulders. “What’s gonna happen to you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but if I fail, it’ll be worse than if I never tried,” she replied. “I can feel it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if I lose you?” Akshi said. “I know I wanted to spend your last hours with you, but I’m not ready to let you go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonata chuckled. “I know it doesn’t mean much, but…” She paused as she plucked a black feather from the back of her head. She pulled it forward and smiled. “You always complimented me on this one,” she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was one of your baby feathers,” he said. “That was your last one. It never went away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it never has to. Take it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi gingerly took the feather and sniffled. “I’m… I’m going to miss you so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not afraid, brother. I used to think that the lilies along my path were stained in red, but I was wrong. I don’t expect you to understand, but that’s okay- I’m just happy I figured that out before I parted,” she said. “Hopefully one day you’ll be happy, too.” She looked at Rouge for a second. “Though, I think you’re already getting there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akshi stepped back as Sonata put her hands towards Shadow. He put his arms around Rouge and hugged her close, hoping that the bat couldn’t feel him trembling. His hopes were thankfully dashed as she placed a hand on one of his arms and smiled assuredly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow squirmed. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can feel it. I should have realized it this entire time, all these eons of wandering without a single conflict in sight,” Sonata said. The green crystals spread across the left side of her face and froze it over. “Just relax- you are still </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>out there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow’s eyes widened as he spotted the giant Garnet behind her beginning to crack. “Sonata, you shouldn’t have to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s my new path, Shadow, and I’m not scared. I know I’ll break, but… I know I’ll be put back together,” she said. She breathed in, then out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Seven chimes.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As the gem behind her split in half, the sound of Akshi’s shout was drowned out by Shadow taking in a deep and painful breath. He’d woken up on the ARK again, surrounded by Sonic, Sylphic, and Blue. The hybrid was crying, but there was a smile that was breaking over his face like the light of dawn, and Sonic was intently staring at him, half-relieved and half… well, Shadow could tell something was off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue slammed into his chest at full speed, and it was then that he realized he was still in critical condition. He grunted loud in extreme pain, and as Blue scrambled off, Sylphic went to make preparations for calling another escape pod.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. The Smile</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As loose ends get tied, Shadow comes to realize that Sonic isn't as well as he seems.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am back from break everyone! Sorry about that- I just got employed and I've been settling in to 2nd shift life. You wouldn't believe how hectic it can get. In the meantime, I have a few chapters coming, hopefully in quick succession. I want to conclude this fic because in the next one we'll be introducing another character from the canon.</p><p>I wanna thank GaySarahK again for the encouragement. Recently big changes have been giving me less motivation to write but I enjoy the reading sessions and wanna keep it up.</p><p>I'm leaving you all with a hint to determine the newcomer for the next fic. It shouldn't be difficult, but if you don't speak Japanese, it might seem foreign.</p><p>Quote hint: "Will you run away and be killed? Will you stay and be tortured to death? Pick your favorite option."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akshi felt himself begin to shake, his telltale sign of falling apart. He couldn’t have saved her, could he? Of all the ways she had to disappear, it had to be like this. </p><p>He clenched the feather in his fist. “It wasn’t fair,” he bitterly spat. “If those fiends hadn’t trapped us like this, we would’ve—“</p><p>“Passed long ago,” Rouge finished. “She would’ve wanted that, right? To pass away, like it should be?”</p><p>Akshi nodded. “I never wanted her to go like this. She traded her own life to save someone she barely knew.”</p><p>“She’s commendable for it, and I can only hope she’s in a better place.” Rouge tried to hold his hand, but he jerked it away.</p><p>“A better place? She faded from existence!” he said. “That’s awful.”</p><p>Rouge pursed her lips. “Is it better than being trapped forever? Or for her soul to have been taken? Who knows what the latter is like- it could be eternal torment for all I know.”</p><p>Akshi breathed in, and then out. “I suppose this would be a worse position to be in. Even so, why did she have to be selfish and leave me?”</p><p>“Why would you want to be selfish and let her suffer further?” Rouge asked. </p><p>Akshi leaned and hugged Rouge tight, sniffling as his shaking intensified. “You’re gonna hate me,” he said.</p><p>“Why’s that?” the bat replied. </p><p>“Because I’m falling apart over this. What kind of man would I be if—“</p><p>Rouge put a finger to his beak as she pulled back from his embrace. “Shh, none of that. It’s okay to feel bad, I do it all the time. Even when it doesn’t look like it.”</p><p>Akshi took her hand and held it to his cheek. “I just don’t want you to think I’m weak.”</p><p>“You never were.”</p><p>“I mean, I’m gonna fall apart over this,” he said. “It’s already coming.”</p><p>“Strong doesn’t mean you aren’t brittle. Diamonds are strong and brittle, right?” Rouge asked.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s…” He chuckled. “Of all the people in the world, you chose the one who can’t come with you to the waking world.”</p><p>“It isn’t so bad, it just means I’ll have a better reason to come and steal you away,” she said.</p><p>“That’s my girl,” he said.</p><p>“Akshi,” Rouge said.</p><p>“What?” </p><p>“Don’t force yourself to stay together just so we can talk. I know that you’re tired of holding it together, that you’ve been doing it since we spoke on the ARK.” She gently gave him a short kiss and smiled. She took his hand and pulled the feather from it before carefully fastening it to his necklace. “Just let go.”</p><p>Akshi nodded. “Tell Knuckles I’m sorry.”</p><p>“What for? You do this all the time.”</p><p>“Yeah, but I told him I wouldn’t this time.”</p><p>Rouge laughed. “That was setting yourself up, then.”</p><p>Akshi punched her shoulder playfully. “Just hurry up and come find me already.”</p><p>Rouge nodded. “See you soon. My apartment’s always open.”</p><p>She came in close and gave him a hug, and she felt as though she were hugging a cactus. It was painful, yes, but this was a dream- she’d simply wake up.</p><p>“What are you doing?” he asked her. </p><p>The bat smiled. “I’m not gonna leave before you do. It’s rude.”</p><p>“Heh, you just—“</p><p>“Shh, just let it go.”</p><p>A piece of him cracked and broke, clattering to the ground as he fell apart like pottery.</p><p>She breathed in, and then out, then woke. As she stood up, she saw that it was about 4 in the afternoon. She rubbed her eyes and opened her curtains before turning to make her bed.</p><p>She’d forgotten that she had brought the stone with her to her room when she’d last been awake. It laid there, dull but still unblackened…</p><p>...and split in two, diagonally. She hissed and put the pieces together, but found that it did nothing.</p><p>She shook her head. Poor Sonata. Poor Akshi.</p><p>Shadow. <em> Right, </em> she thought. <em> Sonata did something to save Shadow. I’ve got to—“ </em></p><p>Her phone began to buzz. She set the stone fragments down and picked it up. “This is Agent Rouge, to whom do I owe the pleasure?”</p><p>“This is Agent Stone, Briggs and I are downtown. We need you at the extraction point.”</p><p>“Whatever for?” she asked.</p><p>“How do I say this without sounding stupid?” he asked her. “Agent Shadow is coming down in a pod in critical condition, and it was triangulated to the park in the center of the city. Shouldn’t be any collateral beyond the park walls, but we need you here ASAP.”</p><p>“Alright, be there in five.” She looked at the cracked gem as she hung up the phone and sighed. “Thank you, I wish I could repay you, somehow.”</p><hr/><p>Shadow’s breath was still shallow as Sylphic gathered pillows around him and Blue. They were descending to Earth fast, and the pod shook as the heat of atmospheric re-entry mounted. “What… are you doing?” he asked.</p><p>“Cushioning your fall,” Sylphic said. “You two have a lower survival rate if your heads hit the ceiling of this thing.” He looked at Blue. “I can’t believe she got away from us like that.”</p><p>Blue frowned. “I can’t reach Retro with the Hivemind, either it’s disconnected from me or Concerto is actively blocking communication from him.” She sighed.</p><p>Sylphic nodded. “Are you injured at all? I’m not familiar with your biology but I could probably make something work.”</p><p>Blue shook her head. “Our wounds heal fast and I can take heavy damage. But thank you anyway.” She looked away for a second. “Listen, um… Sylphic, was it?”</p><p>“Yes?” the hybrid replied.</p><p>“About the one you’re looking for, she…” the alien raised a hand to her chest, but Shadow brought his hand up to her wrist.</p><p>“Not now,” Shadow said. </p><p>“Why not?” Syll said. “We have about 7 minutes before impact.”</p><p>“I want you to meet with her when the situation isn’t so dire,” Shadow explained. “A surprise, no peeking.”</p><p>Sylphic nodded. “I see.” </p><p>Sonic stared out into space. “This space ride seems a lot more inviting now that I’m not threatened by getting blown up,” he said. “If you were ever up for it, Syll, I’d be game for you to launch me again.”</p><p>The black hedgehog shifted uncomfortably before pulling out bits of a broken shell from beneath him. “What’s this?”</p><p>Sylphic frowned. “Hey, pick those up.”</p><p>Blue frowned, but eyed the hybrid before speaking. “It looks like it’s broken.”</p><p>“It belonged to Maria,” Sylphic said. “She got it from her grandfather years ago.” As he received the last piece, he pulled out the Sapphire and put the pieces of the shell into the pouch in his belt. “I need better storage space.”</p><p>“You have another one?” Blue asked. “Is it dangerous?”</p><p>Sonic frowned and squirmed a bit at the sight of it.</p><p>Sylphic shook his head. “She’s not dangerous, just… frightened. She did a very bad thing in the past and she can’t undo it. But… when I fused with her I saw something I didn’t expect.”</p><p>“What’s that?” Blue asked.</p><p>“She was crying.” Sylphic paused. “She was crying for the one she had hurt. I don’t think her motives are like Concerto at all, if that makes sense.”</p><p>“So she’s sorry,” Sonic said. He looked down at Shadow and grimly pursed his lips. His rival was out like a light and sleeping like a baby. “I dunno how well you can trust her.”</p><p>“Trust is something individual, Sonic,” the hybrid said. “You can’t generalize how her sisters behaved to her.”</p><p>“Why not? More than one of ‘em has shown how awful they can be.” Sonic looked away. “They…”</p><p>Sylphic furrowed as Sonic held a hand to his chest and began breathing more shallow than before. A silvery ridge formed along the hedgehog’s waterline. The hybrid pulled out his canteen and offered it.</p><p>Sonic quickly grabbed it and took a long swig. “Th-thanks,” he said, handing it back just as quickly.</p><p>“Are you… okay?” Blue asked. “You seem troubled.”</p><p>Sonic laughed and raised his hands, palms facing out. “Relax, it’s fine,” he said. “Nothing stops this ‘hog.”</p><p>Syll felt the shaking of the pod intensify. “Alright, everybody get ready, it’s gonna be a rough landing.”</p><hr/><p>Shadow’s eyes fluttered open. His body ached like an old seafaring vessel, as though he were creaking and cracking, ready to fall apart. He heard the gentle beep of an EKG next to him, and the flip of a magazine from the opposite side.</p><p>He turned his head. Sonic was sitting in the chair, still in the wrong body and glancing through the pages of filmy paper. His visage was all the indication Shadow needed to conclude that he was still swapped. “Darn,” he muttered.</p><p>Sonic folded the magazine and cracked a grin. “You’re awake,” he said. “Glad to see you’re still kickin’.”</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow. “And leave you like that? Please, who do you take me for?” he said. As he attempted a slight chuckle, he hissed and sharply inhaled before clutching his ribs. As he coughed, a few dried flakes of blood came out onto the blanket and settled like morbid snowflakes.</p><p>Sonic stood up. “Don’t move too much, pal- you’re still healing over.”</p><p>Shadow was about to speak when he noticed a needle in Sonic’s left arm. “What is… what is that?”</p><p>“Well, look down at your arm, too- he’s got us tied up,” Sonic said. He pressed a button on a nearby machine. “If you were having any serious issues, he said I should be giving you a dose.”</p><p>Shadow sighed. “Where is he now?”</p><p>“I dunno,” Sonic said. He played a bit with his fingers as he sat back down. “He said he had to go meet Rouge somewhere and return the Sapphire.” He paused as he seemed to recall something before shifting his weight towards a table and grabbing a small white square. “Here,” he said, handing Shadow what appeared to be a small folded sheet of paper. “He figured he’d write it out for you.”</p><p>Shadow furrowed. “What would he have to tell me?”</p><p>“I dunno, but apparently he didn’t trust it to come from me, so…” Sonic trailed off.</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes. “You’re… speaking softer than usual, you know. What happened?”</p><p>Sonic was quiet and seemed to be staring at the tiles on the floor. </p><p>“Hmph,” Shadow said, opening the folded sheet. </p><p>
  <em> “Shadow, I’m returning the Sapphire to Nyx. I know you want to leave your bed, but your wounds aren’t going to be closed until I return. I’m sorry about taking so long to get to the observation deck. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I thought I lost you.” </em>
</p><p>Shadow could see the letters wavering a bit. It was clear that the medic had a hard time holding the pen as he wrote those words.</p><p>
  <em> Blue is currently under protection from G.U.N. while they sort out legalities. I made my case with them yesterday, and if all fares well, you should be hearing back from them through Rouge.” </em>
</p><p>Shadow’s breath became a bit shallow. Blue was under custody? He didn’t doubt that strings could be pulled, but the little alien was a child- she had to have some guardianship.</p><p>
  <em> “Oh, right- Rouge told us she’d be dropping off the Garnet there as well, but she said it was broken. I’m not sure what that means, but… if it can’t be repaired, it’s likely that you two will just have to get used to being each other.” </em>
</p><p>Shadow grimaced. After a call that close, he wasn’t sure exactly how much danger he could put himself into. Not to mention that G.U.N. would have a field day about this fiasco. That is, if he would still be considered an agent like this. He shifted his legs- they felt like lead.</p><p>
  <em> “I’m sorry if that news isn’t uplifting, but I’m going to do my best to find a way to reverse it. Whatever it takes, it’ll get done. Please don’t get out of bed while I’m away- I still have to run tests to make sure you aren’t tumble-prone.” </em>
</p><p>There wasn’t any conclusion to the letter, it just cut off there. Impersonal, just as Shadow had expected, and yet still more hollow than he’d imagined. Perhaps it was the sinking realization that he was now trapped in a different body with no current means of escape. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew of Blue’s identity and was not able to go and see her himself. Or perhaps it was something simply off about the room.</p><p>He looked over at Sonic, who was showing him a resting face that he’d only ever spotted in a mirror before.</p><p>“You know, you’re getting better at looking like me,” he said. “Well, you know for--”</p><p>“It’s not funny, Shadow,” Sonic muttered. His teeth were almost clenched.</p><p>“Pardon?”</p><p>“It’s not funny,” Sonic said. His words were sharper and more audible than before. “It’s not funny what happened to me. What happened to <em> you </em>…”</p><p>Shadow furrowed. “What are you talking about? Nothing happened, I’m fine.”</p><p>“You <em> weren’t </em>fine, not then.” Sonic looked away. “Look at how Syll responded. He was practically on the verge of going back to how he was last summer.”</p><p>“But… he didn’t.” Shadow shook his head. “What’s gotten into you?”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know,” Sonic said. “How about the fact that <em> I watched you die right in front of me </em>?”</p><p>Shadow paused. He knew what he wanted to say, and he realized there wasn’t a delicate way to ask. “Didn’t Concerto--”</p><p>“No!” Sonic yelled. He clutched the edges of his chair but continued to avoid eye contact. “She didn’t knock me out. She made me watch the whole thing. And it…” He began to shake. “Why did she have to make it feel so good?” he whispered.</p><p>Shadow rolled a bit, hissing as he settled on his side. He wasn’t sure where to begin- he’d never seen his rival like this. He’d always seen Sonic with a smile or a determined look. Occasionally, the blue blur would be upset. But Shadow had never seen him horrified.</p><p>“You didn’t have control over what she did to you, did you?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“I tried to stop it, but it was like I was being force-fed something I love. It was that feeling from before all over again,” Sonic said. “I don’t know why, but at that moment I felt like I was... justified. It’s...sick. Bad sick.”</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. “You enjoyed the suffering.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Sonic said, still shaking. “Yeah, I did. And that’s only part of why I’m so bent out of shape. I never wanna feel like that. I don’t feel like that, not ever- it hurts to hurt good people.”</p><p>“What else has you concerned?”</p><p>Sonic stayed quiet for a moment, flicking his eyes back and forth. He was playing with his thumbs. “I…” He frowned as he held a hand to his chest. “I-I…” He reached around for the can of soda he had nearby and took a long series of gulps. After a gasp for air, he spoke again.</p><p>“When I saw how Syll reacted, I kept wondering how many times I’ve worried my friends. I mean, I pull dangerous stunts all the time. I could get myself killed out there,” Sonic said.</p><p>Shadow shook his head. “This isn’t like you at all, Sonic. Caution? You’ve considered it a stranger since I met you.”</p><p>Sonic frowned. “Shadz, I don’t want my friends to worry about me. I don’t want them to slow down just for me. I don’t want them to have to rely on me if I’m unable to help.”</p><p>“You’ve never been beyond your capability to help. Granted, your means of helping is usually not the most elegant or diplomatic solution, but I’m under the impression that that’s just how you are.” Shadow sighed. “Name one instance where someone has voiced that they were worried about you.”</p><p>“What about when you and Egghead set me into space?” he said. “What about that?”</p><p>Shadow’s ears folded. “Oh yeah… that.”</p><p>“I was <em> terrified,” </em> Sonic said. “But I had to do something. I had to <em> try </em>to make it work.”</p><p>“And why did it work, exactly?” Shadow asked. “I’m still stumped. There’s legitimately no way someone like you could have mastered even the crudest form of Chaos Control so quickly, much less what you managed. So why?”</p><p>“Because I wanted my friends to not worry about me,” Sonic replied. “Because I told myself it <em> had </em>to work.”</p><p>Shadow didn’t know how to respond at first. Was he really so worried about being a beacon? About being a light in the darkness? Perhaps he’d been one for so long he just got used to it and didn’t think about a safety net for himself. The grimmer hedgehog sighed, knowing well he was in no position to comment- often he felt the same need to charge headfirst without consideration of his teammates’ feelings.</p><p>Shadow put a hand out. “You have my word.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?” Sonic asked, glancing down at his rival’s hand. His lip curled a bit.</p><p>Shadow thought for a moment. “You’re going to ask me to keep it a secret, to not talk about it with any of your friends. To keep it between us.”</p><p>Sonic paused. “I mean, that’s what I want, yeah, but…”</p><p>“Look, I don’t find much about you honorable. You’re flighty, you’re impulsive, and you’re reckless.” Shadow paused. “Heck, you can be downright destructive when you’re bored, and the thought of you using that destructive power is actually kinda scary.”</p><p>“Gee, <em> real </em> motivational,” Sonic said, crossing his arms.</p><p>“...but if there’s one thing I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see from you these past couple of years, it’s the maturity you’ve shown in your loyalties. I would go to the ends of the Earth for my friends, but I know I can only do so much.”</p><p>Sonic looked up at him. </p><p>“For a teenager, you are surprisingly principled. Where I would limit myself and set boundaries, you’d sprint past them like they were tape at a finishing line. You don’t draw the line at helping, you do everything to shoulder their burden with them.” Shadow paused and looked at the analog clock above Syll’s workstation.</p><p>Sonic nodded. “I want to be there for my friends, but how am I supposed to help them without endangering myself?”</p><p>“You can’t,” Shadow replied plainly. “That’s the risk you take to help your friends. And you know they’d do the same.”</p><p>“Yeah, but they’re sorting through their own stuff too. I mean, Tails finally telling me, all this stuff about you and your friend…”</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes. “You would go beyond for any of them. There was only one person who could push me that far, and if it weren’t for this mess we’re in, I never would have heard from her again.” He put his open hand closer. “So while everyone else has a Sonic to look after them, you need a Sonic, too. And I might not be Sonic, but I’m…”</p><p>“You’re…?” Sonic said, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“This doesn’t leave this room, not ever,” Shadow said. “I’m not you, but I’m close enough. And that’s why I’m willing to let you sort this out as surreptitiously as you’d like. That’s why I’m offering what I am- because your loyalty to your friends is the one thing I’m… <em> proud of you for.” </em> He knew he was forcing the words, but he meant every single one. “You helped me get my friend back, it’s only fair that I help you keep yours.”</p><p>Sonic looked at him. “I wish it didn’t have to stay in this room.”</p><p>“I know, but if I respect you enough to not burden your friends with things you must work out, you better respect my boundary as well,” Shadow said. He moved his still-open hand and tilted his head. “So are we in agreement?”</p><p>Sonic was hesitant, looking around the room. Perhaps he was looking for cameras, or for some sort of taping device. Or perhaps he was simply making sure they were truly alone. As he reached forward for the other’s hand, Shadow felt a strange sick feeling overcoming him, but Sonic didn’t seem fazed at all.</p><p>Sonic’s hand locked firmly in the crook of Shadow’s, and as the heat of their skin under their gloves intermingled, something returned stronger than before. Shadow’s vision blurred for an instant, and as everything came back into focus, he was staring at the blue blur laying in the hospital bed. Their hands were still locked, until Sonic pulled away and hissed.</p><p>“Geez, you really got me messed up,” Sonic said, holding his chest. “At this rate you’re gonna get me killed.”</p><p>Shadow, for the first time in a while, felt a strange glow brush the tops of his cheeks. His lip didn’t just twitch upwards, it seemed to move freely up into a smile. “Heh, guess you lucked out this time,” he replied.</p><p>Sonic smiled back. “There it is.”</p><p>“What?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“The smile I wanted to see.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Togetherment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At long last, Shadow finally greets Blue and welcomes her into her new home. Meanwhile, Syll forms a partnership with someone unexpected.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for waiting up on my chapters. I intend to release more, however right now I have to prepare Ch24. Obviously you can't post before you write. </p><p>I'm also working on a personal project to expand off of One Stormy Night. That should be fun.</p><p>Oh, an my own personal work with my pseud will eventually be added as well. I'll link that.</p><p>Nods to GaySarahK are present here. Thank you so much and stay safe this winter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nyx sighed as she held the reformed gem in her hands. “You’re lucky I can repair this,” she said, “otherwise I’m afraid that the effects of what it did could seriously have been permanent. Hopefully Shadow and Sonic aren’t in a place that would put them in danger.” She placed the gem into the lodging far enough away from Aria to keep them from speaking to each other.</p><p>Rouge grinned. “So it’s settled then. I apologize for what happened, I didn’t intend on…” she stopped herself and sighed. “I have a lot to work on, don’t I?” she asked. </p><p>“Yeah, you do. What you did was…”Nyx paused, trying to find the words that would be the least malicious. “It was incredibly selfish. That being said, you’re clearly sorry about it even if you don’t want to admit you were wrong.”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “You could hold me more accountable, you know.”</p><p>“It’s not my job to hold you accountable, not for something like this. You have to do that yourself.” Nyx smiled at her. “I suppose you’re gonna go do that soon then, aren’t you?”</p><p>“Yes, but… I think I need to rest up. This entire chain of events has worn me down.” Rouge turned and began walking away. “Take care of her for me, okay?”</p><p>Nyx, puzzled, looked at the Garnet. “I… I will,” she said. After glancing around, she remembered the second guest that had entered the room. At first she figured it would be a good idea to speak, but she paused and simply observed him for a little while longer.</p><p>Syll was standing at the edge of the pool, trying to pull the water from it but failing. He held the Sapphire in his hand. “I don’t suppose you’d be able to help me try this. I mean, I remember your raw strength the first time you fused with me, but it’s risky, isn’t it?” He looked down into the water. “All of that power, all of the bitter pain associated with those horrible memories… would it be worth it?”</p><p>A warm glow seemed to radiate up his arm from the stone. It wasn’t fearful or lonesome in feeling, but rather a sensation that almost seemed like an extension of a hand in cooperation. He breathed and held the gem to his forehead. “I’m trusting you to let go if it gets too intense.”</p><p>As the gem sunk under his fur, the glowing eye appeared, and a voice resounded in his mind. “I’ll let go if it grows too intense. Understood.”</p><p>Syll took a sharp breath in and held his hands above the open pool before gently drawing them upwards. Though the water gave some resistance like rubber attempting to stay together, the water soon followed his will and lifted from the font. </p><p>Little did he know that Nyx was watching. As he caught her in his peripheral, a feeling of extreme fright overcame him and he screamed, flinching as the water violently splashed back down.</p><p>“Incredible,” Nyx said. “That was… incredible. Your powers can affect the pool when you two work in tandem.”</p><p>“I-I…” Syll’s voice seemed far more frightful than usual, and the moth recognized this and stopped. </p><p>“It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked.</p><p>“P-Please don’t… don’t make me go back…” Syll seemed confused by his own words as he realized who was truly speaking. He cleared his throat and spoke again, this time in a calmer tone that was more obviously his own. “Nyx, I understand you want to keep them close, but--”</p><p>“I know, and that’s why I’m okay with letting her go with you.” Nyx looked back at Aria. “Our eldest sister is a bully, a tyrant. She wants nothing more than to have her way, and that includes demoralizing anyone she finds to be weak, which includes Requiem.”</p><p>“Please don’t call me that…” the lilting voice replied. “I know it’s who I…” Sylphic held a hand to his face as tears streamed faster down his cheeks.</p><p>Nyx sighed. “I know you’re tired, and you don’t wanna go back. So perhaps it’s time someone else takes care of you.”</p><p>Syll nodded. “Why me? You know what sort of sadness can be unleashed.”</p><p>Nyx smirked. “I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that. It seems that the seeds of your grief will have grown to a happy end. A surprising end, but a happy one nonetheless.”</p><p>Before Nyx could turn and return to her post, she felt Syll squeeze her in a tight hug. His fingers trembled, and though at first she was frightened by the sudden contact, she smiled and reached behind her to put a hand on one of his shoulders. “It’s okay, Stella, I know you’re scared to be in someone’s hands, but he’ll take better care of you than I ever would.”</p><p>“S-Stella?” Sylphic said. He stepped back and fell over as the gem unfused from his forehead. “Whoa,” he said, shaking himself from the daze. “That’s a headrush.”</p><p>Nyx smiled and picked up the gem before placing it in his hands. “Her name- her <em> true </em>name- is Stella. And if you’re willing to keep her as her Guardian, I’d… I would be very appreciative.”</p><p>Sylphic nodded and wrapped his fingers around the stone. The gentle warmth came up his arm again and he smiled. “Then it’s settled- I’ll watch her.”</p><p>As he stood up, Nyx turned and walked towards the ancient mural where her sisters were to be. He smiled at her, and then his cell phone went off. He unlatched it from its resting place on his belt and flicked it open. “Hey Sonic, how is Shadow healing up?”</p><p>“Wrong way around,” the black hedgehog said over the line. “We’re back to normal. Well, Sonic’s still a bit woozy. Guess he can’t handle getting impaled.”</p><p>“Hey!” Sonic shouted. “Don’t talk crap about me behind my back!”</p><p>Sylphic chuckled. “I take it you’ve been staying by his side this whole time?”</p><p>“Obviously,” Shadow said. “I know better than to leave my post. Even if staying here makes me antsy.”</p><p>“Why’s that?” Syll asked. “You don’t have any plans this evening, do you?”</p><p>“I’m worried about Blue,” Shadow said. “It’s important that I get her out of G.U.N.’s custody. Who knows what sort of things they might--”</p><p>“Shadow, relax, Rouge is going to get her tonight. She should be back at your place pretty soon,” he said. “I had all my bases covered.” He paused. “Why exactly are you suddenly so attached to her?”</p><p>Shadow was silent for a moment. “I wish I could explain it further, but you’re going to have to wait. But she’s my sister, so I have to keep her safe. You of all people would know what family means, so that’s why I’m so “attached” as you’ve put it.”</p><p>Sylphic looked at the Sapphire and sighed. “Yes, quite. I understand. Are we still scheduled for tomorrow?”</p><p>“Did you pick a place?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Yeah, I think I know just the spot. Um, do you want me to bring snacks?” Syll slipped Stella into the pouch on his belt when he heard a tinkling sound inside. He remembered the seashell and nodded to himself, drawing the gem back out. “Stella, it looks like you and I are going to be having a hike.”</p><p>For the first time, he heard her voice and wasn’t fused. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, sir.”</p><hr/><p>Rouge smiled as she brought Blue to the apartment door. “So this is it,” the bat said. “Home sweet home. Are you sure about this? You can always stay at my place if you want.”</p><p>“No thank you, Rouge,” Blue said. “If we’re related now, it only makes sense that I should live with Shadow.” Her spines dropped a bit. “I mean, if he still wants me. I’m not exactly the little girl he remembers.”</p><p>Rouge chuckled. “You might not be the same on the outside, but you’re still a sweetheart. I’m sure he needs more of that in his life.” Her eyes looked a little sad.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Blue asked. </p><p>“I wish I hadn’t frightened him so much,” she said. “I never wanted this to happen. The switch, I mean.”</p><p>Blue shook her head. “Don’t be so sorry- you did a bad thing, but if you hadn’t gotten them tangled up like that, I would’ve been trapped in Eggman’s hands forever.” She shuddered. “What a horrible way to live- his place isn’t always the best, insulation-wise.”</p><p>“Well, you’ll be plenty warm here,” Rouge said. She knocked on the door before letting go of Blue’s hand. “He should be here in three… two…”</p><p>There was a jangling of a latch as the door opened. Behind him, the apartment was drenched in warm colors and was scented like a bakery. Shadow stood at the door and gently smiled. “Good to see they were kind to you.”</p><p>“They asked me all sorts of questions,” Blue said. </p><p>“I’m certain they did,” Shadow said. His brow was bent in worry as he picked her up, but the concern melted away as he spotted her looking at the room behind him in curiosity. He couldn’t stay worried, not at such a sight.</p><p>Rouge was already walking to the end of the hallway when Shadow piped up. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.</p><p>The bat turned. “I figured you two wanted alone time. You know, to get settled in?”</p><p>“We can have alone time <em> after </em> you come in and have dinner. I’m not letting the extra go to waste.” Shadow waved her inside. “Don’t keep me waiting.”</p><p>Rouge smiled softly. “This is so unlike you,” she said.</p><p>Shadow smirked again. “I know, which is why you should enjoy it while you can.”</p><p>As Rouge entered the apartment and shut the door behind her, she was greeted with a meaty smell. “What exactly are you cooking in here? And since when do you cook?” she asked. </p><p>“Since I got this place,” Shadow said. “You think I’d waste my time on the phone with someone who’s gonna deliver pizza half an hour late?”</p><p>“Fair,” the bat replied.</p><p>Blue was scampering towards the kitchen when Shadow hurriedly grabbed her. “Oh, no you don’t!”</p><p>“But I smell sugar…” Blue said. “Can’t I just take a look?”</p><p>Shadow held Blue out to Rouge. “Hold her until I come back.”</p><p>Rouge hugged Blue tight. “He just wants to make it special. You wouldn’t wanna ruin the surprise, would you?”</p><p>“Of course not,” Blue replied. “I’m just hungry.”</p><p>“You’re <em> always </em>hungry, aren’t you?” the bat asked. </p><p>“Yep!” the alien replied. </p><p>Shadow came back in with a plate of takoyaki and a saucer of sauce. “So these are the regular ones, but there’s leek in them, so if you aren’t interested then I get it,” Shadow said. “You should at least try them, though- I spent an hour burning batches before I figured it out.”</p><p>Rouge noticed the candle that was lit above the fireplace. “Oh, so that’s why you have that thing going.”</p><p>Shadow nodded slightly. “It was better than getting the stuff from the shop.”</p><p>“True,” Rouge replied, picking up a skewer that was gently laid on the side of the plate. She poked into one dough ball and bit down. “They’re leagues better than the ones at the shop.”</p><p>Shadow gave her a glance, a look that spoke more thanks that his words could. Rouge smiled and offered him a skewer. </p><p>“Don’t just stand there and wait, you’re gonna miss out on all the food!” Blue said. </p><p>Shadow took the skewer and sat down between the two of them. “So, um… tomorrow,” he said.</p><p>Rouge tilted her head. “You’ve got something planned?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Shadow said. “Syll still doesn’t know. I don’t think it would have been good for him to know when we were falling from space, so… tomorrow we’re going out to meet him.”</p><p>“Do you know where?” she asked. </p><p>“Somewhere in Central City’s downtown campus. He’ll send me the exact location tomorrow.”</p><p>Blue paused. “You mean a University, right?” she asked. “What is he doing down there?”</p><p>“Well, he’s continuing the project that the Professor left behind,” Shadow said. “Poor kid can’t just let it slip away.”</p><p>“Well, he’s gonna be surprised then, isn’t he?” Blue asked. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I’m not exactly…” She gestured to her body and finished with, “Myself.”</p><p>Rouge shook her head. “You’ll be fine. It might seem a little crazy at first, but… his memories aren’t all he is.” She looked at Shadow as if to ask him to back her up.</p><p>Shadow obliged. “Sylphic’s gonna love you, Blue. If there’s something he knows more than anyone else, it’s that his predecessor had a granddaughter, he loved her very much, and anything’s possible.”</p><p>Blue slowly nodded and took a bite of her food. “I think I understand. Still, it’s strange to think about him as separate. His memories are a part of him- he’s adopted many of them- but he’s also not my grandfather.”</p><p>“Never was,” Shadow said. “Even still, his surprise may still be informed by those memories. He was astonished to discover you were alive.”</p><p>“Someone stops existing for more than fifty years and then suddenly there’s word from them?” Blue said. “Yeah, I’d be pretty surprised, too. I’m still sort of surprised that Grandfather managed to impart his memories onto someone like that.”</p><p>Shadow nodded, equally curious as to what sort of technology the Professor had at his disposal. Life wasn’t exactly <em> easy </em>to create, ultimate or not.</p><p>Rouge smiled. “You said that these were the regular ones, so where are the <em> non-regular </em>ones?” she asked.</p><p>“Right,” Shadow said. “Blue, are you full yet?”</p><p>Blue had three or four dough balls in her mouth at once and she swallowed them all at once. “I’m ready anyway.”</p><p>Shadow pursed his lips. “Five more, then you should be done.”</p><p>Blue put five more in her mouth.</p><p>“Blue,” Shadow said. “You know you shouldn’t do that. You used to be human, why are you--”</p><p>Blue chewed thoroughly and swallowed. “Please? I know there’s sugar in there and you <em> still </em>haven’t given it up.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “Alright, you win. Stay here.”</p><p>As he went back into the kitchen, Rouge smirked. “Are you enjoying this place so far?” she asked.</p><p>Blue nodded. “I can’t wait to see everything outside. I mean, you took me over here straight from Headquarters, right? Didn’t exactly get to see all of the pretty things that Earth has to offer.”</p><p>Rouge nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that. The urban places get a little bit more crazy at night.”</p><p>“They were already crazy during the day,” Blue said. She looked down at her hands. “Rouge, I know you two just got done talking to me, but I’m still scared. I mean, Sylphic isn’t my grandfather, but has his memories. That’s got to be painful. I can’t imagine that tomorrow will end well knowing that he’s haunted like that.”</p><p>Rouge sighed. “Don’t focus on who he carries in his mind, Blue. I know it’s hard to believe it’ll pan out. But as long as you show you’re okay, he’ll be okay, too.”</p><p>Blue crawled up onto the seat where Rouge was and got close to her face. </p><p>“Um… what exactly are you up to, now?” the bat asked.</p><p>“I’m looking at your eyes to make sure you’re telling the truth,” the alien replied. “You have tells, but I don’t see them, so I have to be sure.” Blue shrugged. “You’re telling the truth though.”</p><p>Rouge picked her up and set her back down. Blue sheepishly looked away.</p><p>“I’m sorry I got so close,” she said. “There’s a lot of habits I have left to unlearn.”</p><p>“Who said you had to unlearn them all? Maybe those are just a part of you now.” Rouge smirked. “Don’t bother pretending to be the same little girl you were fifty years ago. Not for anyone.”</p><p>“But Shadow would--”</p><p>“Shadow would want to see you comfortable and happy. And if some of those habits bring you comfort, then it doesn’t matter what he thinks, because that’s your happiness,” Rouge said. She looked up to see Shadow standing behind the couch with another plate of takoyaki, mouth slightly agape at what she’d said.</p><p>“What?” Rouge asked.</p><p>“Nothing, just…” Shadow frowned and brought the plate around the couch to the low table in front of them. “These ones are dessert. I know you probably won’t eat them, Rouge, but--”</p><p>“Stop that, I’ll try anything,” she said. “I just don’t like the dessert takoyaki from that <em> one </em>joint. That’s all.”</p><p>Shadow smiled softly. “Then enjoy,” he said, taking a skewer and poking into one of the dough balls.</p><p>Blue took a bite of one she’d skewered. “Wait are these…”</p><p>“Yeah, angel food cake with dried strawberry. The dehydrator I have isn’t that great, so that’s another reason I have the candle going.” Shadow looked at Rouge. “What were you going on about?”</p><p>Rouge looked away as she chewed her food before making a quick swallow. “It wasn’t anything important.”</p><p>“Your voice doesn’t go up in volume unless it’s something important to you,” Shadow said. </p><p>“It’s one of your tells,” Blue said, nodding in agreement. </p><p>Rouge rolled her eyes. “I just felt like she’s far too worried about what you think of her and what Syll’s gonna think of her tomorrow. I did what I always try to do with the people who matter- fix things. It wasn’t a big deal.”</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “Your false modesty doesn’t suit you well.”</p><p>“It’s not false!” Rouge said. “I just feel like you’d never force someone to change for you, that’s all.”</p><p>Shadow smiled a bit more. “Rouge, when you did what you did a few days ago, I was furious. I came back to the apartment so we could talk about it, but you switched me and Sonic, and that made me even more upset. Even when I’d thought I’d forgiven you when we met back up, there was still a lingering doubt that you’d learned something.”</p><p>Rouge’s ears folded in shame.</p><p>Shadow scooted a bit closer and smirked. “Nobody can change who I am. And because you can clearly tell that what you did was wrong, I have no doubt in my mind that you’ve learned something. You might be rough around the edges like me, but you can still change, even if you don’t see it.”</p><p>“T-Thank you? I felt like I was just stating the obvious, though.” Rouge played with her thumbs.</p><p>“That’s the thing about it though- a few days ago, perhaps it wouldn’t have been so obvious.”</p><p>Blue took another takoyaki and realized they were all gone. “Oooohhh,” she whined. “Why aren’t there more?”</p><p>Shadow looked at her. “Geez, I made enough for all three of us and you managed to eat all of them on your own?”</p><p>“S-Sorry…” Blue said quietly.</p><p>Shadow sighed and put a hand on her head. “You know I can’t stay mad at you,” he replied. “Go wash your hands- you’re taking a bath and going to bed early.”</p><p>“But I <em> just </em> got here. Can’t we do something before we go to bed? It’s 7pm.” Blue crossed her arms.</p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes. “Okay, bathtime and then a <em> movie, </em>” he said. “But you aren’t going to be getting any more. We have to be up nice and early to make lunch for the trip.”</p><p>Blue stood up straight and saluted. “Alright, Captain Cranky, I’ll go get ready.”</p><p>Shadow looked back to Rouge, who was already getting the door. “Are you leaving so soon?” he asked.</p><p>“You have to teach her how to use the tub,” she said. “And I have to go steal some stuff.”</p><p>Shadow shook his head and smirked. “I guess there’s no use keeping you here, then, is there?”</p><p>“Nope,” Rouge said. Her smile softened as she opened the door. “...Thank you.”</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow. “For what?” he said.</p><p>She paused. “For believing I could change.”</p><p>“You’re… welcome,” Shadow replied.</p><p>“Don’t strain yourself,” Rouge teased, shutting the door.</p><p>As soon as he heard the footsteps fade down the hall, he turned back to Blue, who had a towel wrapped around her with her face poking out. “Are you gonna help me, or…?”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “Alright, let’s get going. Just promise you’ll be a good listener- the bathtub is really big for someone as small as you, so--”</p><p>“I know,” Blue said. “I’m… I’m sorry for eating all of the dessert.”</p><p>“Pfff, please,” Shadow said. “I wouldn’t have made it if I didn’t think you’d eat it all. You’re a real sugar demon, aren’t you?”</p><p>Blue nodded. “I’m… nervous, a little bit. A long time ago I took showers and baths, but… I don’t know how well I can handle water now. What if I drown?”</p><p>“I’m not gonna fill the tub up that far,” Shadow said. “But if you’re still worried, I’ll bring a book with me and I can sit by the tub in case you need me.”</p><p>As Blue turned and walked towards the bathroom, Shadow absentmindedly grabbed a book off the shelf, not even bothering to look at it as he followed. As soon as the fluorescent light in the pink and maroon-tiled bathroom hit the both of them, he looked down and smiled at the title- <em> The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. </em> The bookmark was 80% into the book.</p><p>He set the book down on the closed toilet seat and went over to the tub. He pushed the plug into the drain and reached his hand over the side of the tub. </p><p>“Why are you doing that?” Blue asked. </p><p>“The water needs to be cool enough that you don’t get burned,” he said. “I don’t want tonight to be a bad first impression.”</p><p>“That’s… thoughtful of you, Shadow,” the alien said.</p><p>“I’m glad you think so, Ma--” He quickly covered his mouth with his free hand, looking away as he recognized what he’d said.</p><p>Blue smirked and brought a hand to his wrist before pulling his hand away from his mouth. “Don’t worry about using that name anymore, okay Shadow? It can be one for just us.”</p><p>Shadow nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, I’m still--”</p><p>The towel fell around her shoulders. “I know you’re scared of what they did to me. I know that those things are hard to unsee. But I’m here, and I’ll do what I can to help you through it, one day at a time,” she said.</p><p>“One day at a time,” he repeated. “Blue, the… the shampoo is in the drawer right there,” he said, pointing to the cabinet behind her. “Your choice.”</p><p>Blue turned and rummaged through the drawers before settling on one of the plastic bottles. She turned around and presented it to him.</p><p>“Eucalyptus and Spearmint?” Shadow asked, confused. “But I got you--”</p><p>“I <em> know </em> you got me lilac, but right now, you need to relax, too. Rouge said you’d never trade my comfort and happiness for anything. And if that’s the case, even if it’s just for tonight, I won’t use a smell that reminds you of what we lost.”</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “You’re serious?”</p><p>Blue nodded back. “You’re my brother now, we gotta look out for each other.”</p><p>Shadow chuckled a bit louder and came forward, grabbing Blue and hugging her tight. “I’ve missed you so much.”</p><p>“Heh,” Blue said. “I’ve missed you, too.” She looked over at the tub. “Um, is the water supposed to be that high?”</p><p>Shadow pulled away and awkwardly grabbed the faucet handles. “Whoops. Guess I got sidetracked.” He smiled as he turned them to a drip. “Not that I mind, sis. Welcome home.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Good Tears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As things come to a close, Syll finally meets with the guest he's been haunted by.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The smell of smoke gracefully wafted against Shadow’s nose as he stirred from sleep. The two of them had fallen asleep during the movie, and the television had been turned off. It seemed strange that Blue would have turned off the television on her own, given that she was by all means unsure of where the power button would have been, but an out-of-alignment remote on the coffee table made it clear that she’d watched him control the television without leaving his spot. Not that he could anyway- Blue had curled up on his lap like a cat.</p><p>The smoke. The smoke! Shadow’s eyes went wide and he shot up. “Blue, where are you?” he said, slightly concerned at the prospect of a fire.</p><p>He spotted her in the kitchen, carefully flapping her wings as she hovered in front of a pan on the stove. “Blue, what on Earth are you doing?” he asked.</p><p>“Oh! You’re awake,” she said. “I uh… I wanted to make breakfast. I hope you don’t mind angel food cake flavor for pancakes. It’s the only recipe I remember off the top of my head.” She sighed. “I’m having trouble not burning them.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “You set it on high, didn’t you?” he asked.</p><p>“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” she asked.</p><p>“Not for pancakes,” he said, walking towards her. He reached over and turned the dial from a ten to a six. “You shouldn’t use the maximum for much besides boiling water.”</p><p>“Oops,” she said. “Guess that’s another thing I’m gonna need to remember.”</p><p>“Not necessarily,” Shadow said. “Do you remember how picky I was with my food?”</p><p>“Well, yes,” Blue said. “You always wanted it bland. Maybe with butter and salt sometimes.”</p><p>Shadow smiled as he scraped the burnt pancake off the pan. “Well, I’ve since learned that you can add other things to make food interesting. I said I didn’t like pizza delivery, but that was only half the reason.”</p><p>“Well, what was the other half?” she asked. She cautiously grabbed the pancake and bit into it before grimacing and setting it back onto the plate.</p><p>“How do I put it?” Shadow asked. “Hm…” He poured batter into the pan and tilted his head in thought. “I suppose the best way to say it is that food tastes better when you make it yourself.” He took the half-eaten pancake and bit into it. There was a noticeable crunch, but he didn’t seem to pay it any mind at all. “Or when someone makes it for you.”</p><p>Blue giggled. “I’m glad to be safe.”</p><p>“I’m glad you’re safe, too.” Shadow flipped the pancake over. “Do you mind getting me the whipped cream and the strawberries? The former should be in a blue can with a red cap.”</p><p>Blue nodded and went to grab the ingredients. “So, what are we making for lunch?” she asked. “You don’t have any bread for sandwiches.”</p><p>“Sandwiches?” Shadow asked, not even looking away from the pan as he casually took the pancake and flipped it onto a clean plate. He poured another pancake and continued. “No, we aren’t gonna make sandwiches this time. Too obvious.”</p><p>“Then what are we making?” Blue asked, pulled the strawberries out. “Ah, yes, here they are…” she muttered.</p><p>Shadow flipped the second pancake over and listened as the liquid sizzled. “We’re making onigiri. It’ll stay fresh a lot longer than sandwiches would.”</p><p>“Ah, right. Didn’t we make those before?” she asked.</p><p>“Yeah, a few times. Though I’ve since learned that the rice isn’t soaked that way. It’s why it didn’t turn out as well as it could- too much starch.”</p><p>“I see,” Blue said. “Um, I saw that it was cold outside. I’m not sure how warm I’ll be able to stay.”</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “Why don’t you go check my bedroom. I left something on the bed that I figured you’d probably like. Not that you <em> have </em>to wear it or anything, but I figured a housewarming gift was in order.”</p><p>Blue set the ingredients on the counter as Shadow set the second pancake on the plate and poured another. She waited a moment, and then rounded the corner and went down the small hallway. </p><p>Shadow chuckled to himself, reminded of how strange the circumstances had become. For years and years he’d wrestled with the idea that his best friend was gone forever. But she was right here. Yes, she was a bit sillier than usual, but he had no doubt in his mind that a lot of it came from her new instincts.</p><p>But were those years of frustration and grief a waste? Maybe. He was immortal, after all- it wasn’t like he was wasting a finite amount of time. But even so, it felt like those years were for nothing.</p><p><em> No, </em> he thought, <em> don’t think that way. They weren’t for nothing. </em> He looked at the empty doorway for a moment as he remembered that she went to try on what he’d bought her. <em> They were for her. </em></p><p>He carefully reached into a drawer to the side of the oven and pulled out a thin, glove-like covering. They were specially designed for avoiding the removal of his gloves while also providing burn resistance. Carefully, he slid them on. He flipped the pancake over before bending down to pull out the rice cooker.</p><p>“Shadow?” </p><p>The black hedgehog flared his spines in surprise and knocked the pan off the stove. “B-Blue?”</p><p>The darkling, dressed in a fleece-lined coat, rushed forward and grabbed the pan- but not at the handle- causing Shadow to panic a bit as he came close. “Blue, y-you’re hurt, and..”</p><p>“No, I’m not,” she said. She gently set the pan back on the stove. </p><p>“You… aren’t burned from that?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Nope!” she replied. “My biology is designed to withstand that. I don’t feel pain from heat and I can’t really be set on fire.”</p><p>“Not all Black Arms are like that, you know. And I would know,” Shadow said. “When… when did you figure out you could do that?”</p><p>“This morning, when I was making pancakes.” Blue smirked. “Pretty cool, huh?”</p><p>Shadow smiled. “Yeah, it is. I guess you’re a lot tougher than I gave you credit for.” He sighed as he set the pancake, still somehow in the pan, onto the plate. He then turned off the stove and stood up, opening the can of whipped cream and spraying it on the top of the stack. He pulled a box out from the cabinet above and fished out a container with a series of holes in the top. </p><p>“What’s that?” she asked.</p><p>“Well, sometimes if I think I’ve done a good job, I let myself have some of these.” He poured out a series of yellow star sprinkles on top of the whipped cream. “I figured since you’ve been brave for me all this time, you deserve to have some.” He finished the stack with a sizable heap of strawberries and turned around with the plate, setting it on the table behind him. “Eat up, we have a long day ahead of us.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Blue asked. “We’re just going to see Sylphic, right?”</p><p>“Well, I have a bunch of other errands I need to run with you, too. You aren’t gonna be under my roof without the necessities.”</p><p>“I mean, I have a roof, I have food, what else do I need?”</p><p>Shadow grinned. “Well, for starters, you only have two outfits- the one you showed up in and this one.” A noticeable blush crept across his face. “It looks… nice on you, by the way.”</p><p>“Thank you, I got it from a really great guy,” Blue replied with an equally wide grin. “He must work really hard for the people he loves. If he ever decides to settle down, whoever he’s with is gonna be <em> very </em>happy.”</p><p>Shadow lost his smile in his own embarrassment. He’d never thought about something like that in his life. He wasn’t even sure if he <em> should </em> settle down- he was always the type to keep moving. But even if he did, he doubted he’d be in a couple with <em> anybody. </em> He was already at home with his new sister.</p><p>He remembered the kiss he’d been given a few days ago. He wasn’t sure why he’d felt nothing with Rouge. She was great- wonderful, even- but there was some hint of wrongness to that stolen kiss. Perhaps it was that he’d never been kissed before. Perhaps it was his own reservations about love. Perhaps it was a third thing he couldn’t think of at that moment.</p><p>Blue pulled a fork out of the drawer and scampered over to her pancakes, digging in haphazardly with her fork. “Shadow, what’s the matter?” she asked.</p><p>“Oh? Nothing, it’s nothing.” He paused. “I just have a lot of stuff on my mind. Stuff I need to sort out on my own.” He began to work on the rice, pouring two cups into the removable inner lining of the rice cooker before running it under the water and sloshing it around. <em> What could it be? </em> he thought.</p><p>“Oh, I see,” Blue said. Her tone was a little different than usual though. “I didn’t mean to pry.”</p><p>Shadow turned around and looked at her. “I-It’s not like that, I…”</p><p>Blue paused. “Wait, did you just…”</p><p>The black hedgehog stopped for a moment and stared. “You can… communicate with me? I thought that was part of Concerto’s powers.”</p><p>“Huh,” she said. “Perhaps it’s just a feature of the Black Arms race, something she hijacked. It’s hard to tell, considering how endangered we are now.”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “I... “ He gently poured the water out, careful not to spill the rice, before pouring new water in and swishing it around. “I don’t really put much stock into the whole… <em> dating </em> thing.”</p><p>“I can understand why,” Blue said.</p><p>“In fact, I’m still grappling with the prospect that eventually you’ll…” he paused. “Best not to think about it, right?”</p><p>“Well, the longer you hold onto it, the more it’ll eat at you,” Blue said. “I don’t know if I’m immortal or not, but I do know I’m extremely durable, and that I was created to destroy you. I mean... “</p><p>Shadow sighed, and homed in on her thoughts. <em> “I understand what you meant.” </em></p><p>Blue nodded. <em> “It’s hard not to talk about my Black Arms history and my life before with you like they both truly happened,” </em>she thought back to him.</p><p>Shadow set the inner-lining pot down and walked over to her. <em> “All that matters now is that you don’t wanna do that stuff anymore, that you aren’t forced to do that stuff. You’re safe here, I promise.” </em></p><p>Blue nodded. “I need to finish my pancakes so I can help you out,” she said aloud.</p><p>Shadow chuckled. “Okay. But you have to wash your hands before you get to touch the rice,” he said. </p><p>Blue firmly agreed and got to work on her pancakes.</p><p>Shadow went back and continued soaking the rice to remove the starch. He smiled and hummed to himself for a bit before thinking. <em> “Hey Blue,” </em>  he thought. <em> “I forgot to tell you- we’re collecting tree feathers today, too.” </em></p><p>“Don’t you mean leaves?” she replied aloud. </p><p>“Guess old habits die hard,” he said. He filled the liner with the appropriate amount of water and set it in the rice cooker before setting the lid on and pressing down a button. Then he walked to the fridge and pulled out a jar of purple plums suspended in liquid. </p><p>“What’re those?” Blue asked.</p><p>“Pickled plums, I was gonna put them in the onigiri.”</p><p>“Huh,” she said. “Can I have one?”</p><p>“I dunno,” Shadow said with a smirk. “They’re pretty sour, I’m not sure you could handle it.” He spoke the last few words like a challenge.</p><p>Blue picked up on that. “Don’t tease me, terrestrial,” she said. “Gimme one.”</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow and opened the jar before tossing her one. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”</p><p>Blue put the plum in her mouth and Shadow watched as her face turned from joy to a playful panic. “It’s… good…” she said.</p><p>Shadow shook his head and handed her a napkin. “If you don’t like it, you can just say so- I won’t be offended.”</p><p>Blue swallowed the plum in protest. “No way! I’m not just gonna let you win!” she said.</p><p>Shadow smiled. “Consider it payback for the time you mixed seventeen different drinks and it curdled in my stomach.”</p><p>“You remember that?” she asked.</p><p>“I remember all of the fun times we had, even if I spent my afternoon coughing up everything inside me from our poor choices. It was still fun,” he said.</p><p>“Even the gross drink?” Blue said.</p><p>“Even the gross drink.”</p><hr/><p>Sylphic sat quietly alongside the University’s botanical pond. The ducks had just gone south for the winter, and the wind off of the bay was growing colder than ever. He didn’t blame the waterfowl for their choice- he only wished he could have gone with them.</p><p>Maria. <em> Right </em> , he thought. <em> She’s probably gonna be cold. Oh, but Shadow’s probably given her a jacket, perhaps a scarf as well… </em></p><p>It was strange, this sort of meeting. On one hand, he knew Maria well- his predecessor’s memories informed him. But on the other hand, she’d never met him before, and in a strange way it was comforting to know that this could be a first impression. Even though it put his mind at ease a little, the strangeness of the interaction was ever-apparent.</p><p>He looked at the crows that overlooked the trees. He knew their common augury- a symbol of death- yet he spotted no reason to be concerned. For starters, such superstitions were baseless, but moreover, a generalized prediction was no way to tell a fortune accurately.</p><p>A leaf fell into the pond- a red maple leaf- and he smiled, remembering how Maria would collect leaves from aircraft pilots and make scrapbook pages with them, detailing their structures. What a studious young lady she was. Sylphic smiled a bit, content that he’d finally get to meet the one who had haunted him since he was awakened.</p><p>A screeching sound rang out overhead as a familiar face caught a goose in her arms. It was Blue, and she was plummeting fast as she jarred a sugary churro from the waterfowl’s beak. “You can’t just steal that!” she yelled. “That’s not yours!”</p><p>Sylphic frowned and pooled water below, breaking her fall as she dropped into it. She kicked and struggled to maintain buoyancy before the hybrid gently set her down. The water flowed and soaked into the grass. “Sorry,” he said, closing his fist.</p><p>“Huh?” Blue asked. She stiffened as a puff of steam sent the wet feeling away. “Oh, I guess that’s pretty neat.”</p><p>“What in the world are <em> you </em>doing out here? The wind chill is only expected to get worse,” the hybrid said.</p><p>“Well, I—“</p><p>“Blue!” Shadow shouted from over a small hill nearby. “You can’t just run off like that! I almost…” his voice petered out as he locked eyes with Sylphic.</p><p>The hybrid looked at him, then to Blue, then back to Shadow. “I… where is…”</p><p>Shadow held up the bag he brought with him. “I brought lunch.”</p><p>Sylphic swallowed hard and nodded. “I… I didn’t know what to expect but…”</p><p>Blue tilted her head as she sat down on the picnic blanket. “I… I know we met on the ARK before, but…”</p><p>Syll smiled. “Blue, right? Um… Sylphic.” He held out his hand. “You… um, don’t know me, right? Um…”</p><p>Blue smiled and took his hand with both of hers. “I’m afraid you’re new, but to you I wouldn’t be, would I?”</p><p>Syll chuckled. “I-I suppose not…” He clutched his forehead. “I had no idea that you’d be… well, like this.”</p><p>“I was asleep for a long time, and when Shadow brought me up to the ARK, the memories just clicked together, and I woke up for real, I guess,” Blue explained. “Blue was the last color I saw because I was looking down at the planet below.”</p><p>Syll nodded. “That certainly makes sense. I like that name.” He wiped away tears that were forming along his eyes and sniffled.</p><p>“I guess he really missed me that much, didn’t he?” Blue asked. She scooted a bit closer.</p><p>“It’s… nothing. I mean, I’m not even him… right?” Sylphic said. “I shouldn’t be feeling this way…”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “You seem a bit choked up.”</p><p>Syll frowned. “Shadow, this isn’t funny, I’m experiencing some <em> very </em> conflicting emotions…”</p><p>Blue leaned against the hybrid and reached her arms around his middle. “Then don’t let them conflict,” she replied. “Just let them exist. It’s what he told me when I was little. Why shouldn’t you do the same?”</p><p>Syll smiled. “Y-you… remembered that? You were only seven…”</p><p>“Doesn’t matter how old I was. What matters is that you gotta let the bad stuff out so you can let the good stuff in.”</p><p>Syll turned and hugged her tightly. “Of course he missed you…” he whispered, carefully stroking her head. “He missed you so much… he lost his mind over you, I…” He trailed off. “Forgive me, it’s hard to separate myself from him.”</p><p>“It’s okay to be who you are, even if he’s a part of that, Syll,” Shadow said. “You aren’t that deceit- you’re so much more than that. Remember.”</p><p>Sylphic nodded. “R-right…” He carefully pulled a gift from his satchel. “I hope this isn’t too weird of a gift.”</p><p>Blue took the parcel, a lumpy thing wrapped in brown paper and tied with blue twine. She nodded and undid the strings before grinning. “You… you fixed it.”</p><p>In her arms was the shell that had been broken before, now patched with gold.</p><p>“It’s called kintsugi,” the hybrid said. “It means ‘gold joining’ and it’s an eastern art form. It… it represents finding beauty in flaws. I tried my best with it, I hope it’s okay.” Syll looked away. “I know that shell meant a lot to you.”</p><p>“It does, but I’m not sure if I’ll need it as much as I used to. I mean, now I can hear the ocean for real,” Blue said. “Even so, it’s beautiful. I’ll treasure this for a long time. You’re right- things aren’t perfect and rosy anymore, but I’m here now. Hopefully, that’s enough.” She leaned into the hybrid again. “Thank you.”</p><p>Syll felt his tears rush down his cheeks. “Wow, he’s missed you that much,” he said. “Why am I crying?”</p><p>“Because you didn’t think this would ever happen. He thought I was gone. You and Shadow thought I was gone. Heck, <em> I </em> thought I was gone. But these aren’t sad tears at all- it’s called <em> closure,” </em>Blue said. She reached up and wiped at his face with the back of her hand. “They’re good tears.”</p><p>Shadow opened the pack he’d brought with him. “It’s lunchtime,” he said. “I’m starving. I brought a few things with.”</p><p>“I helped a little bit,” Blue said. “My hands were a little too small though, so all the little ones are mine.” She chuckled. “You don’t mind right? I’ve become a bit of a big eater.”</p><p>Syll smirked. “I don’t mind.”</p><p>A ginko leaf fell down into the hybrid’s lap, and he grinned as he picked it up and handed it to Shadow. “Here, you said you and her were gonna go leaf-hunting. May as well kick it off with this one.”</p><p>“Did you find that scrapbook?” Shadow asked. </p><p>“I’m still looking for it, but I’ll probably find it soon, depending on how many strings are pulled,” Syll replied. “Right now, I think I’ll just enjoy this weather.”</p><p>Shadow smirked. “Glad to see you’re okay,” he said.</p><p>“I’m glad to be okay,” he replied. “Are you two doing anything later?”</p><p>“We have errands, but after eight we should be golden,” the black hedgehog replied.</p><p>“I have tickets to something,” he said. “It’s kind of a cool movie theatre- they bring you food and drinks and the seats recline.”</p><p>Shadow nodded. “Blue, you wanna see another movie?”</p><p>“I dunno,” Blue replied.</p><p>“What if I told you they had sugar?” Syll asked with a mischievous grin. </p><p>“Sign me up!” she said, shoving a rice ball into her mouth. “Don’t wait to eat! The seaweed will get soggy.”</p><p>Syll took an onigiri and laughed. “You’ve become rather curious, haven’t you?”</p><p>“I always have been, Syll,” Blue replied. “I just refuse to be modest about my passions now.”</p><p>“That’s for the better, then,” the hybrid replied. He raised his hand. “Hey, um… do you want to see something neat? It’ll be like old times.”</p><p>“Oh?” Blue and Shadow said in unison.</p><p>Syll grinned and flicked his hand up with his fingers held together, sending a stream of water into the air. He then separated his fingers, and the drops solidified into thousands of flakes. “Pretty neat, huh?”</p><p>“Showoff,” Shadow said. </p><p>Blue’s eyes were wide as she watched the flakes fall. She caught one on her tongue. “You remember that too, don’t you?” she asked.</p><p>“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t,” Syll said, chuckling. “Welcome to Earth, Blue.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome back! The Derecho still has our internet out, and it looks like it'll be out until MAYBE the 13th of September. Hooray...</p><p>Anyways, I wanna give another thank you to GaySarahK for being so patient with me. I promise my Internet will be back eventually. There's a lot of reading to catch up on...</p><p>Speaking of her. SERIOUSLY- check out "The M Word". She does an amazing job with close, emotionally intimate scenes, especially tricky given Shadow's prickly (no pun intended) nature. It's here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695922/chapters/62389465</p></blockquote></div></div>
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